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 - a simple, elegant French side dish

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.

Tomato Provençal Tian

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.

frenchfridayswithdorie

Tomato Provençal Tian

 *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.