Tomato Provençal Tian
Tomato Provençal Tian – a simple, elegant French side dish that’s wonderful with fresh summer tomatoes. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with herbs and cheese, this tian is a delectable addition to any meal.
Tomato Provençal Tian
For this week’s French Friday recipe, Dorie Greenspan gave us the option of making the ubiquitous herb and garlic topped tomatoes known as Tomatoes Provençal or a sliced version,Tomato Provençal Tian. A tian, according to Dorie, is a pottery dish, similar to a deep dish pie plate. That’s exactly what I used to oven roast these tomatoes.
Lovely Heirloom Tomatoes
Our nearby produce stand was finally stocked with vine ripe tomatoes and a plethora of summer fruits and vegetables. Seeing both yellow and red heirlooms, I knew a tian would show off these beauties best. I took a few steps out to my garden to snip some parsley, basil, thyme and rosemary. Don’t you just love summer? Even Bill put one on his plate without me having to coax and cajole. And gave an unsolicited, “These are good.” I’ll take that!
How to Make a Tian
Follow this link to the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette to see Dorie’s recipe for Tomatoes Provençal. To make the Tomato Provençal Tian instead, just slice your tomatoes into thirds, place them overlapping slightly in a pie plate, season, top with the herbs and garlic, and drizzle with extra virgin oil*. I basted after 30 minutes, then baked another 15 before broiling with the added cheese. Try either of these for a lovely accompaniment to your summer meals.
Skinny Tip
I’ve started a series of Skinny Tips. How I keep slim is one of my most frequent inquiries. I’ll feature tips on some of my upcoming blog posts.
Tip #24: I’ve already addressed the topic of drinking lots of water throughout the day, but another trick is to drink a large glass of water when you’re hungry. Sometimes dehydration can be mistaken for hunger, so fill up your glass and once your thirst is quenched, you can re-evaluate whether you really need that snack.
*I used Star Fine Foods Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle over my tomatoes. Their olives are pressed within 24 hours of harvest, resulting in a robust, rich olive oil that’s perfect for salads, over fresh tomatoes, for bread dipping and much more. It was marvelous on my Tomato Provençal Tian. Visit their website to purchase their olive oils, vinegars and many other quality products.
Disclosure: Star Fine Foods supplied me with a bottle of their Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I was not compensated for writing this post and the opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Star Fine Foods.
50 Comments on “Tomato Provençal Tian”
I wish I had read the recipe notes more carefully. I didn’t even notice the tian option. I guess I’ll just have to make this one again…
Nice to see that someone did the tian version of this – so appropriate for those beautiful heirloom tomatoes!
What beautiful tomatoes. I love frying tomatoes with herbs. 🙂 This sounds good!
Beautiful presentation, Liz! It’s amazing how a little bit of arranging can turn a simple side into an elegant dish.
Oh yum! Not only does that look beautiful it also looks delicious! There’s nothing better than tomato pie or tian or provencial! 🙂
I want you to know, Liz, that after reading your entire Post and before leaving this comment, I got up and got a big glass of water and drank the whole thing. (While reading your column, I was eating a Salnet Nut Roll candy bar – love those things). Perhaps I should have had the water before unwrapping the candy bar. Next time. I have a Tian dish on my premises so will try that next time I make this recipe. The tomatoes are just starting to come in at our Farmers Market so I look forward to making more of this delicious recipe.
This is such a pretty summer dish, Liz. Add a little fresh mozzarella and loaf of French bread and I could call it dinner!
There’s no better treat in summer than gorgeous tomatoes like these! Beautiful!
Your bright and colourful tian is so lovely – perfect for a summer picnic.
There’s nothing better than a dish that features tomatoes during the height of summer. Thank you for sharing Liz!