From Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine, October 2014.
First of all, I needed to know what a “tian” was. Definition: a dish of finely chopped vegetables cooked in olive oil and then baked au gratin or a large oval earthenware cooking pot traditionally used in Provence.

While flipping through ta copy of Living Magazine, I saw a gorgeous photo of this recipe and decided I had to try it. I love beets and thought it looked like an impressive dish to take to a party or serve guests. I think it would look lovely on a Thanksgiving table or Christmas buffet.
Thoughts from My Kitchen after Making the Dish
The preparation takes a bit of time, but THAT was expected to get the photo worthy result.
While I truly enjoyed the taste, I think I would leave out the tomatoes and add more onions next time. I would also cut down on the amount of olive oil.
When I reheated the dish the following day, I believe it tasted even more delicious. This side
dish keeps well.
Thumbs up: With modifications, I will make it again.
I cut the portions down slightly, so my stacks are not overlapped like the original photo.
Autumn Tian
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours (takes a while for the beets to roast and then cool.)
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1-pound beets (about 3 medium), preferably a mix of red and golden, trimmed and scrubbed. (I couldn’t find any golden.)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (Next time two!)
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (cut down to 4)
- 1-tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium) peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1-pound plum tomatoes (about 3) cut crosswise into ¼ inch slices

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Wrap beets in parchment-lined foil.
- Roast on a baking sheet until tender about 1 hour, 20 minutes.
- Let cool completely. Peel and cut crosswise into ¼ inch slices. (I did this early in the day- in my toaster oven.)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Toss onion with 1-tablespoon oil and half the thyme. Season with salt and pepper and arrange on the bottom of a 3-quart round or oval gratin dish.
- On a cutting board, stack 1 slice each potato, beet and tomato.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Repeat with remaining vegetables, keeping each stack separate.
- Transfer stacks to baking dish and overlap slightly.
- Sprinkle with remaining thyme and drizzle 2 tablespoons oil.
- Cover tightly with parchment-lined foil.
- Bake 30 minutes.
- Uncover; drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil (use less.)
- Bake, uncovered until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are caramelized, about 35 minutes more.
- Let cool slightly before serving.