Tian Provençal
Happy Monday! Bringing you yet another seasonal, vegetarian delicious recipe! And today, allow me to stress on the importance of consuming local, seasonal vegetables. By eating local produce in season, we enjoy food that nurtures both us and our environment. As the summer days linger on, we still get to enjoy the sun gorged vegetables that grow during this season; Sun kissed red tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines… yum! You might have already used this combo of vegetables in a more popular French dish called Ratatouille! I invite you today to enjoy all the of flavors of South-France Provence, in this elegant and delicious vegetal dish. It is a bit lengthy to make but oh so worth every minute of your time! And the good news is, the leftovers (if any) will even taste better the next day!
For the vegan option, simply omit the mozzarella cheese, it will still taste delicious!
Ingredients
- 4 red tomates
- 4 yellow tomatoes
- 2 courgettes
- 2 aubergines
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- Basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh rosemary
- 250g sliced Mozzarella
- 4 tbs olive oil
- Rock salt
- Pepper
How to Make It
Step 1
Pre heat the oven to 180°C
Step 2
Wash the vegetables
Step 3
Chop the aubergines into 5mm slices, add the rock salt and set aside to drain for about 20 minutes
Step 4
Chop the tomatoes, courgettes and onion into 5mm slices as well
Step 5
Peel and cut the garlic cloves into 4 parts
Step 6
Wash the drained aubergines and dry with paper
Step 7
Rub an oven plate with one garlic clove
Step 8
Add the vegetable slices one after the other, making sure you alternate between the tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, onion and the sliced Mozzarella
Scatter the garlic around the plate then pour the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the vegetables then garnish the dish with some bay leaves, fresh parsley, thyme twigs and rosemary. Season with rock salt & pepper
Step 9
Bake for about 1 hour, the vegetables must to be tender, crunchy and fully cooked through
Serve warm and garnish with a few basil leaves
* I noticed that the dish tastes even better the next day, so do not hesitate to prepare it the day before, and then reheat for the next day! The juices would have caramelized just enough to make you and your friends come back for more!!
The Benefits of Eating Locally and Seasonally:
By eating local produce in season, we enjoy food that nurtures both us and our environment
The term “locavore” is used to describe someone who only eats locally grown seasonal foods. This may seem like a challenge, but during the summer it is increasingly easy to adopt this lifestyle. The landscape of summer is awash with fresh fruits and vegetables. Let’s try to capitalize on this colorful, delicious, and healthy harvest: eat seasonal and local.
It may seem like a luxury to be able to eat whatever we want, whenever we want it. The modern day grocery store is a mecca of food. But how much of this food is seasonally and locally grown?
There are many benefits of eating seasonal locally grown food, to name a few:
-
We decrease the amount of fossil fuels used in transportation.
-
We reduce our reliance on unhealthy pesticides and chemicals used to grow produce out of season. We save money.
-
We also increase the strength of our local community.
-
Shopping at a farmer’s market is a great way to support local growers and to increase your exposure to seasonal, locally grown, and organic produce.
-
Most importantly, farmer’s markets are filled with friendly people who know about your food and are ready to answer your questions.
Source: The Ecology Center
