Recipe: Roasted Delicata, Apple, and Onion Tian - Bruce Bradley (2024)

So what side dishes are on your menu for Thanksgiving? If you’re like a lot of folks, über-sugary, sweet potato casserole mightbe making an appearance on your table.

Perhaps this is heresy to admit, but I’ve never been a fan of thistraditional Thanksgiving dish. Sadlysweet potatoes that have been drenched inbrown sugar and marshmallows taste more like a kids’ cereal than a side dish. Sweet Potato Frosted Marshmallow Crunch, anyone?

While making this dish once a year is hardly a crime, I thought I’d suggest something new for your holiday menu. Switching things up can be fun, right? And if someone in your extended family is a sweet potato casserole die-hard, perhaps they can bring it this year? 🙂

So what do I suggest you make instead? One of my favorite ways to eat veggies isa type of dish called tian (I’ll be blogging about some more traditional versions after the New Year—I can’t wait!). Named after a French cooking dish fromProvence, tians are all about cooking delicious roasted vegetables. For some funI’ve been doing a little experimenting with fall vegetables, and I’ve come up with an absolutely amazing way to get your family eating some nutritious squashwithout all the sugar and marshmallows of sweet potato casserole. So grab hold of your favorite baking dish, and let’s get cooking!

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Now this recipe looks more complicated than it really is (sorry! I’m going to try and improve my recipe writing skills). Soto make this recipe less intimidating, here’s a quick, 5-step visual guideto help you get the idea. I took these photos when I made a squash, eggplant, onion, and tomato tian this summer, but I think it visually helps bring the process to life!

Although the cutting takes a little bit of prep time, once you’ve made a tian a couple of times, you’ll learn it’seasy enough that you’ll wantto add it to a weeknight meal (remember that cooking muscle memory I talked about a couple posts ago?). And feel free to experiment! If you don’t have delicata squash, use another variety. Roasted tians are a simple, delicious way to eat many different kinds of veggies!

Have you made a tian before? Do you have questions about this recipe? Or do you want to share your personal twist on this recipe? Please,share it in the comments section below! Together we can learn and help each other create happier, healthier lives!

Cheers!

Bruce

Kitchen Resources/Tips:

• If you strugglecuttingthin, similarly-sized slices you might want to consider buying this mandoline slicer. I’ve found that food processors are just too rough to cut nice, even slices for tians, and there ends up being too much waste. SoI use a mandolin slicer to cutthe apples and onions in this recipe. PLEASE, though, be extra careful to not cut yourself. Always use the mandolin slicer’s tool to hold the vegetable or fruit—believe me I’ve learned the hard way on this. Nothing like slicing your fingertip to cramp your cooking style for the holidays! Finally, delicata squash has too thick of a skin for the mandolin slicer, so for this recipe just use a good, sharp kitchen knife and cutslowly! Happy Slicing!
• A great apple corer is a kitchen essential. I replaced myold, rustyone this summer with a new, OXO Good Grips corer and love it. If you don’t have an apple corer, or if you might need an upgrade like I did, I highly recommend this one. It’s sharp, easy to use, and does the job lickety-split!
• I love this 15×10 pyrex baking dish, but for the holidays I often bring outmy white casserole dishes from Crate and Barrel.

• originally published November 17, 2014

• Updated November 28, 2023