Discover How to Perfectly Cook a Provençal Tian Without Excess Water!

Sun-kissed vegetables sliced into rounds, olive oil, garlic, Provençal herbs… You guessed it, we’re talking about one of summer’s staple dishes: the tian. This Provençal specialty gets its name from the clay dish in which the vegetables are slowly simmered. The result is a tender, juicy gratin. However, sometimes, the vegetables release too much water during cooking, turning what should be a gratin into something resembling a soup. Fortunately, there’s a simple and effective way to prevent this issue, and no, it doesn’t involve salting the tomatoes beforehand.

Common advice for preventing excessive wateriness in dishes like tian involves salting vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, and zucchinis before baking to draw out moisture. Typically, this means covering them with coarse salt and letting them sit over a colander. This process can be time-consuming and not always effective, and it can also diminish the vegetables’ flavors. To make a flavorful tian with just the right texture, Laurent Mariotte has discovered a better method.

Before arranging the vegetable slices in the dish, he brushes the bottom with a generous amount of olive oil. He then adds a minced garlic clove, a spoonful of dried oregano, and sprinkles a thin layer of breadcrumbs over everything. “This helps to soak up the juice during cooking,” he explains in a video. This technique prevents flooding and enhances the taste of the vegetables. For the breadcrumbs, Mariotte suggests using leftover stale baguette pieces. Simply chop them into large pieces and blend them into a fine powder. This not only reduces waste but is also tastier than pre-packaged breadcrumbs.

No longer do you need to spend hours salting your vegetables. A thin layer of breadcrumbs at the bottom of the dish is sufficient to absorb excess juice and retain all the flavors of the tian. This tip might just become your go-to all summer long.