Here is one of the great things about food.   There are so many moments where it is not just about the food—cooking and eating is about our memories of where we were and who we were with and how we were feeling…and the food becomes a trigger for us to go back to those wonderful places in our lives.
I was charmingly reminded of this while watching Disney’s movie Ratatouille with my kids.  I loved the scene where the “evil critic” takes a bite of ratatouille, and in a rapturous moment, is transported back to his childhood, and his comforting and happy memories of this homemade dish.  And this taste, this memory, is the turning point where he softens up and becomes a better person!

And as a parental bonus, who wouldn’t like a movie that makes cooking and eating vegetables look very appealing and even cool?  So much so that after my boys saw the movie, they even asked me to make my Vegetable Tian.  Why you say?  Because…my tried and true Tian recipe looks exactly like the version of ratatouille that was featured in the film…and my kids recognized it right away and spent the next hour associating that yummy looking dish with a great movie. Needless to say, I made it right away.  And while my husband and I have loved this dish for years, this was the first time that our boys loved it too.

So here is my version of Vegetable Tian (a ringer for the film version of ratatouille.) While not required equipment, if you have a mandoline, use it to make this dish really beautifully and fairly quickly.

Vegetable Tian

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
2 leeks, white part only, washed thoroughly and sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium zucchini, sliced very thin
8 plum tomatoes. sliced very thin
4 small yellow squash, sliced very thin
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Oil a 9 inch round or a 9 x 13 rectangular glass or ceramic baking dish.  In a sauté pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the leeks over medium low heat until they are translucent, but not brown.   Add the garlic and cook for just another minute.  Spread the leek/garlic mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.

Layer the zucchini, tomato and squash slices on top of the onions in one layer.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper, and thyme and then drizzle all with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 45 minutes.  Uncover the dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for another 30 minutes or until browned.