Courgette & Tomato Tian Provencal
This courgette (zucchini) and tomato vegetable bake recipe, which is also known as Tian Provençal, is a simple but tasty traditional dish made from a medley of vegetables, parmesan, and herbes de Provence from the Provencal area of the South of France.
Other dishes like this, perfect vegan dinners, are Eggplant Caponata, Aubergine au Gratin, or Cauliflower au Gratin. All easy and flavorful!
The amount of fresh vegetables is plentiful, and the peasants would have made their vegetable dishes using what was available in season.
This dish would have been made at home and taken to the baker, and when the baker had finished making the bread these simple dishes would have been put in the bread ovens to cook.
This was, of course, in the days before people had ovens in their own homes.
It's a lovely, refreshing, and tasty dish to have on its own with some crusty French bread, or it's delicious served with meat, poultry, or fish and seafood recipes!
More Awesome French Dishes
📖 Recipe
Easy & Quick Vegetable Bake
Ingredients
- 5 medium tomatoes sliced
- 2 medium courgettes zucchini sliced
- 4 onions sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus ½ tablespoon for drizzling
- 1 finely crushed garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- NOTE: For best results use tomatoes zucchini & onions that are similar in circumference size.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to about 350F/180C/Gas 4
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and sweat the onions and garlic over low heat until they are soft and golden.
- Place the onions in the base of a round
- inch shallow baking dish.
- Cut the tomatoes into thick slices about ¼in (6mm) thick.
- Cut the courgettes into thick slices about ½ in (1cm) thick.
- Arrange the tomatoes and courgettes in alternate rows over the onions and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, herbs, salt, and pepper.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the vegetables are tender, about twenty minutes.
- Your Provencal Tian is now ready to serve!
- You can serve it as it is with some crusty French bread and a green salad or your favorite meat, fish, or poultry dish.
- Substitute the vegetables listed here or add slices of squash, eggplant, and carrots.
- Slice the zucchini, squash, eggplant, and carrots, end to end and lay them sideways in the dish to form a flower like arrangement.
- Either way it is scrumptious!
Notes
Nutrition
Judith says
This is a delicious all-vegetable meal or side dish that my family loves. Chop, place veggies in an oven-proof dish, bake, and enjoy! 🥒🍅🧅❤️
Ron says
How do I keep this from drying out? First attempt was really tasty, just a bit dry.
Judith Coates says
Hi there Ron! I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavor on your first try, that makes me happy to hear. If it turned out a bit dry, here are a few simple tweaks that usually help keep this Provençal bake beautifully moist:
Slice the vegetables a little thicker. Thin slices can dry out quickly in the oven, especially tomatoes and courgettes.
Add a touch more olive oil. A light drizzle over the top before baking helps the vegetables stay tender.
Cover loosely with foil for the first 10–15 minutes. This traps steam and keeps everything juicy, then you can uncover it to finish so the top gets a little colour.
Use very ripe, juicy tomatoes if you can. They release more moisture as they cook.
Don’t overbake. The vegetables only need to soften, pulling it out as soon as they’re tender keeps the dish fresh and succulent.
If you try it again with one or two of these adjustments, I think you’ll find it stays wonderfully moist while keeping all that lovely Provençal flavour.
Please, let me know how your next bake goes, I’d love to hear! 🌞