Baked Vegetable Tian in Tomato Sauce with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

To assemble

1. 8
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven
2. 9
   Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium heat.

   StoveSmall saucepan
3. 10
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 11
   Add the garlic and fry 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 12
   Add and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
6. 13
   Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of round or oval pan, about 28 cm across and spread it in an even layer.

   Baking pan
7. 14
   Cut the vegetables, zucchini and tomatoes into ½ cm thick rounds.

   KnifeCutting board
8. 15
   Cut the pepper into wide strips.

   KnifeCutting board
9. 16
   Arrange the vegetables, zucchini, pepper and tomatoes on the sauce in tight alternating rows, the slices standing on their sides.

   Baking pan
10. 17
    Drizzle the olive oil on top and sprinkle with the thyme, rest of the salt and black pepper.
11. 18
    Cover with parchment paper and bake 40 minutes, then remove the paper.

    OvenBaking panParchment paper
12. 19
    Roast the vegetables, zucchini, pepper and tomatoes in a hot oven (180°C / 355°F) another 20 minutes, until the edges turn golden and the sauce is bubbling.

    OvenBaking pan

    💡Give it room in the pan: crowded vegetables steam instead of browning.