Vegetable Tian

When we first planned to have an Italian dinner, all I thought of was pasta on top of pasta, with a side of bread to soak up the left over sauce.  I don’t really think of any vegetables or “healthy” stuff when preparing an Italian themed dinner. The husband’s Chicken Parmesan was requested so he made that while the rest of us cooked up the sides.

I knew I wanted to add some vegetables to our meal so I came across this Vegetable Tian. Now, what the heck is a Tian? I thought it sounded Chinese so I skipped over it.  BUT it turns out a “Tian” is by definition, a mixture of roasted vegetables cooking in a shallow dish, usually with cheese or au gratin. So there you have it…my vegetable tian was born.

This vegetable dish not only looks amazing, it’s a joy for your taste buds too. I’m a huge fan of roasted or baked vegetables (“ROAST ALL THE VEGGIES!”) so I truly enjoyed it. My husband (not a real vegetable fan) enjoyed it too, thanks to the melted cheese on top.

Summer Vegetable Tian
What you’ll need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium russet potato
1 medium tomato
Salt & Pepper
Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella or any Italian cheese

What you do:
Preheat oven to 400.
Finely dice onion and mince
Saute the onion and garlic in a skillet with EVOO until softened (about 5 minutes)
While the onion & garlic is cooking, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
Spray an 8” baking dish with cooking spray.
Spread the onion and garlic in the bottom of dish
Place the sliced veegtables in the baking dish in an alternating pattern.
Sprinkle generously with salt & pepper and Italian seasoning
Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

XOXO