Vegetable Tian

Ok so you're going to a dinner party and need to bring a side dish..what do you do?  It's easy to grab a frozen bag of generic mixed veggies, mix with velveeta and throw into a casserole dish...exciting.  How about a tian:  a layered veggie dish?  This beautiful, swirly, colorful, healthy veggie side dish is so impressive looking (I think...) and it's not super complicated.  If you can chop fairly consistent sized circles of the veggies you choose, you can make this.

I've seen the Barefoot Contessa make this, and when I saw it again on a blog, I knew I wanted to try it at home.  It was super duper yummy!  I had all the ingredients and planned to make it for a dinner party, but when it was rescheduled, I decided to make it anyways.  It was easy enough to throw together on a Friday night after work, but felt special; bonus!  I think this would be great for Easter :)

Vegetable Tian
Adapted from Annie's Eats

Olive oil
2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large potato unpeeled
1-2 zucchini
3 medium tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
2 oz cheese (Parmesan, Gruyere, etc).

Preheat oven to 375.  Brush a large casserole dish with olive oil.  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a saute pan and cook onions over medium heat until translucent, about 8-10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Spread onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Slice potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices.  Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly in one layer.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme leaves and sprigs.  Drizzle with a little more olive oil.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Uncover the dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake for 30 minutes more or until browned.  Serve warm.