zuke alors! vegetable tian

When you tell people that you’re making something French, it always sounds very chic & fancy.  The truth is most French people employ very simple cooking in their day to day lives.  The trick is to buy good ingredients and let them really shine through with your preparation.  So when you make this recipe for dinner and people begin to go “Ooh la la”, feel free to play along & take the credit.  I won’t tell if you won’t.

you will need:

• 8X12 glass ovenproof dish (or other big oven-safe dish)
• a teaspoon
• food processor
• a strainer

ingredients:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow zucchini / summer squash
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 20oz can diced tomatoes (I use Unico because the don’t contain sugar. You’d be surprised to know that most canned tomatoes have sugar added to them. Make sure to read your labels!)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 oz goat’s milk feta cheese
• 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
• 2 slices whole grain bread
• olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Take out your glass ovenproof dish and spray it with a little olive oil.  (I would recommend getting an olive oil sprayer called A Touch Of Oil, I’ve been using them for years.)

Next wash & chop up your zucchinis.  The easiest way to do this is slice off the ends, and then cut them in half length-wise.  Flip each half of the zucchini cut side down (so they don’t rock around when you try and cut them), slice them in half length-wise again & dice ‘em up.  Throw all your diced bits in the big dish.

Dice your sweet onion pretty much the same way & try not to cry.

You want to make sure everything is distributed evenly so get your hands in there and toss up everything in the dish. 

Open up your diced tomatoes and pour them into the strainer over the sink.  You want to strain out and of the extra water and juices so they don’t water down the tian.  Once they’ve drained toss them over the other veggies and mix it all in with your hands.

Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the dried thyme over the dish and mix that in as well.  Thyme is an excellent marriage with tomato & zucchini dishes.

Next take about an ounce of feta cheese and crumble it over the top.  I like to use feta because you don’t have to use a lot of it to get a really nice flavour.  It also holds up really well in the oven and doesn’t get too gooey.  You may be tempted to put more cheese on, but remember it’s an accent to the dish, you’re not making gratin.  I also sprinkle on about a tsp of grated parmesan if I happen to have it on hand.  Again, use it sparingly.

To get a really nice crust on top you’ll need breadcrumbs.  I’ve been eating Silver Hills Sprouted Grain breads for years now, but any whole grain bread will work.  Please note this is whole grain, not whole wheat, there is a difference.  Take 2 slices of the bread (I often use the end crusts), and throw them in a food processor.  Whiz them around a few times and you have fresh bread crumbs better than anything you’d buy in the store.  Pour the bread crumbs lightly over top of the dish.

Toss it in the oven & bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top turns brown.  You’ll be able to smell it from the oven by then.  Always remember that not every oven is the same, so do keep an eye on it.

Et voila!

recommended listening while cooking: Pink Martini - Hang On Little Tomato