Tian Provencal With Polenta Food

TIAN PROVENCAL WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a shallow 2-quart baking dish with oil. Bring milk and 2 1/2 cups water to a simmer in a medium pot. Whisk in polenta; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared dish, spreading in an even layer.
• Layer half of leek, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes over polenta. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Scatter with half of cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients, omitting cheese.
• Bake 30 minutes. Press vegetables down with a spatula; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until vegetables are knife-tender and edges are caramelized, about 35 minutes more. (If cheese is darkening too quickly, tent with foil.) Let cool slightly before serving.

PROVENCAL VEGETABLE TIAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil in a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Layer half the leeks in dish, then cover with half the potato; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Top with a layer each of half the eggplant, half the zucchini, and half the tomatoes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Scatter with half the olives and half the thyme. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Repeat layering and seasoning with remaining vegetables. Drizzle with remaining oil, and cover loosely with foil.
• Bake 20 minutes, then remove foil. Press vegetables down with a spatula, and bake until potato is tender and edges are well caramelized, about 45 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

SEARED TUNA WITH TIAN OF PROVENCAL VEGETABLES

Steps:

• For the vegetable tian: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the oil with the thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Arrange half of the vegetables in rows in the dish, interspersing the different types until the bottom of the dish is covered. Drizzle with half of the oil mixture. Make a final layer of mixed vegetables, and drizzle with the remaining oil mixture. Cover the top of the vegetables with lightly oiled parchment paper. Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Remove the vegetable tian from the oven, keep warm in a warm place, and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.
• For the tuna: Season the tuna with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the tuna and cook, turning once, until seared on both sides, about 2 minutes. Uncover the tian and place the seared tuna fillets on top of the vegetables, spacing them evenly. Bake, uncovered, until the tuna is rare to medium-rare, about 5 minutes. Spoon equal amounts of the sauce in the centers of 6 warmed plates. Using a wide spatula, lift portions of the tuna and vegetables and transfer to the plates.
• For the sauce: Place the tomato confit, garlic confit, water, salt and pepper in a blender and process on high speed. With the machine running, drizzle in the oil and blend until the sauce is emulsified, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the parsley and thyme. Set aside at room temperature
• Place the tomatoes in a colander and toss with the salt. Let drain at room temperature for 2 hours. Pat the tomatoes dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary in a nonreactive 2-quart saucepan. Add enough oil to cover the tomatoes. Cover the saucepan and bake until the tomatoes are very tender, but not falling apart, about 3 hours. Drain, discard the garlic and rosemary, and set the tomato confit aside for the sauce. (The tomato confit can be prepared up to 3 days in advance, covered and refrigerated.)
• Place the garlic cloves and 2 cups cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain. Repeat the procedure 2 more times. Return the drained garlic cloves to the saucepan and add the oil. Bring to a bare simmer over very low heat. Cook until the garlic is tender, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Transfer to a 1-pint canning jar, add enough oil to cover the garlic, and seal. (The garlic confit can be prepared up to 3 weeks in advance, covered and refrigerated.)

TIAN (PROVENCAL BAKED VEGETABLES)

Steps:

• Put eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 30 minutes to exude their bitter juices. Rinse well under running cold water and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Saute the sliced eggplant with the onions, sweet peppers, and garlic in 4 tablespoons of olive oil until golden.
• Spread the misture over the base of a shallow, ovenproof dish.
• Using a potato peeler, remove some of the peel in strips from the sides of the zucchini, leaving some vertical stripes of green.
• Slice the zucchini thinly. Slice the tomatoes. Arrange the zucchini and tomato slices in alternate rows over the top of the sauteed vegetable misture, overlapping like fish scales.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle rosemary and thyme.
• Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, until golden.
• Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle with the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top if you wish.
• Bake for a further 10 minutes until crisp and golden. Eat hot, warm, or cold.

TIAN A LA PROVENCAL (RUSTIC VEGETABLE TART)

Steps:

• PREHEAT oven to 400°F Thinly slice potatoes, tomato, onion and zucchini.
• ARRANGE vegetables in a shallow baking dish, alternating each.
• PUT the garlic in the center of the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour the oil over the vegetables.
• ARRANGE the rosemary sprigs on top of the vegetables and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Pour off excess oil and serve immediately.