When I saw this vegetable dish while browsing some blog posts I knew I wanted to make it. But I was also intimidated over how it looked (check out the original recipe to see the pic). The blogger had really made a beautiful dish and I knew I would never be able to replicate it. And….of course I couldn’t. But it was delicious no matter what it looked like. Even my aunt and uncle who were the recipients of our New Year’s Day leftovers loved it.
Before I even made it I had reservations. While shopping I could not find vegetables to my liking. Everything, and I mean everything was ugly. I like my vegetables to be perfect. But after watching the Food Network special on food waste I have an entirely new attitude. Bring on the bruised fruit and vegetables. My mind is even drifting to wanting to open a soup kitchen. It could happen.

Vegetable Tian
(recipe slightly adapted from For the Love of Cooking)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c sweet yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Sweet Potato, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 Spanish Calabasas, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with Pam spray. In a sauté pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. Once heated add onions and sauté for 7-10 minutes or until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for roughly a minute. Spread mixture on bottom of your baking dish.
Layer potatoes, squash and zucchini in a single layer on top of onions. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle remaining oil over top. Cover with fill and bake for 35-40 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Uncover and sprinkle cheese over top of vegetables. Bake additional 20 minutes until cheese is melted.

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