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This colorful tian is delicious with slices of grilled polenta.
It's also wonderful piled on top of grilled bread that has been spread first with a layer of garlic mayonnaise.
Serve the tian hot, tepid, or even chilled, as part of a plate of small salads or with the main part of the meal.

Red Onion Tian

small torpedo onions or red onions

small red bell pepper

small yellow bell pepper

medium-sized ripe tomatoes

to 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

to 6 thyme branches or several pinches of dried

small garlic cloves

salt

freshly ground pepper

balsamic vinegar

Oven

Quarter the onions, leaving the base intact, and peel them.

Halve the peppers both crosswise and lengthwise, remove the seeds and veins, and cut them into pieces roughly 1/2 inch wide.

Remove the core from the tomatoes and cut them into sixths.

Brush a film of olive oil over the bottom of a gratin dish [or just use an oblong tempered glass dish which works fine too], scatter the thyme over it, and add the vegetables, including the garlic, in an attractive (it can't help but be attractive), easy fashion.

Brush the remaining oil over the vegetables, being sure to coat the onions and peppers.

Cover the tian and bake for 1 1/2 hours. The vegetables should be very soft, the tomatoes melting into a jam.

Remove it from the oven and carefully pour the liquid that has collected into a small saucepan.

Add a teaspoon of vinegar, bring the liquid to a boil, and reduce until it is thick and syrupy.

Taste for vinegar and salt; then pour or brush this syrup over the vegetables.