More Late Summer Meals: Vegetable Tian

Every August, everybody is faced with the same dilemma: how do we use all those tomatoes and all that zucchini without getting sick of it? It's a good problem to have, I know - especially with respect to the tomatoes - but it's a problem nonetheless.

One simple way to use a lot of both vegetables at once is to make a tian. I use a slightly modified version of Ina Garten's recipe from Barefoot in Paris, and this is the (pre-oven) result:The combination of potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, and cheese is a good one and, as long as you don't mind doing some slicing, it's a very easy side dish.

Vegetable Tian

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Olive oil
5-6 large shallots, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound medium round potatoes (like Yukon gold), unpeeled
1 medium to large zucchini
1 1/2 pounds medium tomatoes
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
3 sprigs thyme
2 ounces Gruyere (or Comte or Jarlsberg), grated

Preheat the oven to 375.

Brush a 9x13 pan with olive oil. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tbs of olive oil and cook shallots over medium heat until translucent - about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about another minute, until fragrant. Spread mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini into 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish, making it tight, so you only end up with one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive oil, and place the thyme sprigs on top. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes.

Uncover the dish and remove the thyme sprigs. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for another 30 minutes, until browned and tender.