Counting the hours
and a recipe for a Provençal vegetable tian that captures the essence of the season
I’m turning on the lights a lot earlier these days.
Swirling leaves are crowding the edges of the walkway, and they’re tinged with gold and red. The last of the Black-eyed Susans are valiantly holding up their heads, even as their weary stems tilt towards the ground. We’re finally, reluctantly, shaking out our sweaters to ward off the chill in the September air.
I seem to be running out of time in equal measure. I know summer’s not quite over. There’s still late corn and last tomatoes to be had, and there’ll be warm days ahead, and patio dining, and rosé wine. But this shifting of the season is always a reminder that time is concrete, finite and implacable. And with that reminder, perhaps a reckoning of how we’ve been spending this most coveted of resources.
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
– Carl Sandburg
We tend to measure success by our big, fat, shiny accomplishments. A degree earned; a home purchased; a promotion granted. Behind those accomplishments are innumerable hours and effort. Would we be asked to do it over again, we’d likely say yes.
But there are so many other inconsequential things that chip away at our time. I’m not talking about a lazy hammock afternoon, a walk on the beach, a nap, reading a book. Those are restorative and necessary.
It’s more about when we let others be the robbers of our time, with us as the unwitting accomplice. Quarrelling with our partner; arguing about how to do something; doing the endless social media scroll; being given a make-work project.
All in good time
When minutes and hours are eaten away, we start feeling harried, stressed, out of sorts. Racing towards something, but away from our core of calmness, is not a good thing. Because no matter how hard we run, the clock ticks on, minute by minute - not a minute more, not a minute less.
I like to think of the changing of the season, and the slow steady onset of darkness, as a reminder to run towards the light that time casts. It can be warm, enveloping, promising. But it is often in a circle, reminding us of its limitations, our choices, and the consequences of not paying attention to its squandering.
Choose wisely. After all, time waits for no one.
End of summer Provençal vegetable tian
serves 4 as a side for roasted meats, fish or in your morning omelette
Technically speaking, a tian is a round earthenware dish that goes from oven to table. While all manner of delicious things might be made in a tian - pommes Anna, for instance, or dauphinoise potatoes - a tian is most famously used for Provençal vegetable tian. Also called confit byaldi, it’s the dish that was made famous in Pixar’s Ratatouille.
Like any regional dish, Provençal vegetable tian has many variations on a central theme. What is true of any great Provençal tian is plenty of late summer produce - most notably tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant; lots of herbs; a decided note of garlic; and plenty of good olive oil to finish.
This one, inspired by Dorie Greenspan, is dead simple. Feel free to modify the dish below to whatever you have on hand. The slow and deep roasting of the vegetables and herbs will yield a delicious result, no matter the combination. Make this before you run out of time to use the last of the season’s beautiful harvest.
Note: Use any oven safe round dish for your tian. A 9-inch pie plate works well
Ingredients
⅓ cup cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced (more if you are a garlic lover)
Any combination of fresh herb sprigs; tarragon, basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme are traditional favourites. Use at least four types, 2-3 sprigs of each type
Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 ripe medium tomatoes, sliced
2 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch slices
1 small Italian eggplant, trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch slices
1 small red onion, trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch slices
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Spread some of the olive oil into the baking dish, tilting it so the oil coats the sides. Scatter a few sprigs of herbs over the oil, along with a few slices of garlic.
Arrange the vegetables in the dish in overlapping circles, as tightly as possible, as the vegetables will soften and shrink as they roast. Nestle the remaining garlic slices in the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Scatter the remaining herbs on top and pour the remaining oil evenly over the top.
Place the dish on a baking sheet and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the juices are bubbling. Serve with plenty of bread alongside.