For ➍-➏250 g potatoes boiled in their skins
4 tbs of olive oil
small clove of garlic
salt, nutmeg & freshly-milled black pepper
250 g zucchini
5 eggs
2 heaped tbs parsley
2 heaped tbs grated cheese
(a few spinach or sorrel leaves if you happen to have them)
For these quantities you need a (earthenware) dish of 20cm diameter and 5cm deep.
Peel the cooked potatoes. Cut them into cubes, put them into the earthenware dish with 2 tbs of olive oil, the chopped garlic and seasoning of salt and pepper. Let them warm in the uncovered dish in a low oven, 150°C, while you prepare and cook the zucchini.
The best way to do this is simply to wash them, trim off the ends, and leave them unpeeled except for any blemished parts. Instead of slicing them, grate them coarsely on a stainless-steel grater.
Put them straight into a sauté pan or wide frying pan with a couple of tbs of olive oil (or butter if you prefer), sprinkle them with salt and cook them gently for 5 m, with a cover on the pan.
Break the eggs into a large bowl. Beat them until frothy. Add the chopped parsleyand any other fresh greenery you may have (this could include watercress and lettuce as well as spinach or sorrel, uncooked, and simply cut up with scissors), the cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, then the warm zucchini.
Last of all, but gently to avoid breaking them, stir in the potatoes. Tip the whole mixture into the dish, sprinkle the top with a little oil and return it, uncovered, to the oven, now heated to 190°C.
Leave the tian to bake for 25-30 m until it is well and evenly risen. The top should be a fine and appetising golden-brown.
For serving hot, leave it in the dish, and simply cut it into wedges, like a cake.
If you intend to serve it cold, leave it to cool before turning it out on to a serving plate. If it is for a picnic leave it in the cooking dish, put a plate on top and envelop it in a cloth knotted at the top.
You could serve it as a side dish with fish or lamb.
Peel the cooked potatoes. Cut them into cubes, put them into the earthenware dish with 2 tbs of olive oil, the chopped garlic and seasoning of salt and pepper. Let them warm in the uncovered dish in a low oven, 150°C, while you prepare and cook the zucchini.
The best way to do this is simply to wash them, trim off the ends, and leave them unpeeled except for any blemished parts. Instead of slicing them, grate them coarsely on a stainless-steel grater.
Put them straight into a sauté pan or wide frying pan with a couple of tbs of olive oil (or butter if you prefer), sprinkle them with salt and cook them gently for 5 m, with a cover on the pan.
Break the eggs into a large bowl. Beat them until frothy. Add the chopped parsleyand any other fresh greenery you may have (this could include watercress and lettuce as well as spinach or sorrel, uncooked, and simply cut up with scissors), the cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, then the warm zucchini.
Last of all, but gently to avoid breaking them, stir in the potatoes. Tip the whole mixture into the dish, sprinkle the top with a little oil and return it, uncovered, to the oven, now heated to 190°C.
Leave the tian to bake for 25-30 m until it is well and evenly risen. The top should be a fine and appetising golden-brown.
For serving hot, leave it in the dish, and simply cut it into wedges, like a cake.
If you intend to serve it cold, leave it to cool before turning it out on to a serving plate. If it is for a picnic leave it in the cooking dish, put a plate on top and envelop it in a cloth knotted at the top.
You could serve it as a side dish with fish or lamb.
A classic Provençal dish from Elisabeth David, named after the tian, an earthenware vessel used both for cooking and serving. The classic vessel is a truncated cone, flattened at the base and flaring outward to a wide rim. It is traditionally glazed on the inside, and unglazed on the outside.
Modern tian is described as having no added liquid, the layered ingredients being cooked until their naturally inherent liquid or moisture has evaporated. In Provence, the dish may be made with vegetables alone, but also with lamb, fish, or egg added to vegetables. Goat cheese is a common ingredient. Tian can be described as a gratin in the provençal style. Typical ingredients in tian are more associated with Provence than with other regions of France.
Read more Elizabeth David recipes: roasted peppers, lettuce & almond salad, chicken & rice salad, fish parcel, poaching an egg.
