Vegetarian

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice eggplant into thick slices, about ½ inch thick. Put slices into a colander and salt them to bring out the bitterness.

Heat olive oil (about 2 tbsp) in large pan.

Once hot, add the onions. Cook until soft. When the onions have finished cooking, remove from pan and set aside.

Add some more olive oil to the pan and put down a layer of the eggplant slices and cook until lightly browned on each side.

Set that batch of eggplant on a plate/platter and keep going until you’ve cooked all the eggplant.

As the eggplant cooks, shred the mozzarella (or open the bag… sigh).

Start layering the cooked eggplant slices in a 13x9 baking dish. Add some onion, tomatoes, mozzarella, thyme, salt and pepper.

Repeat the layering until you’ve used all the eggplant slices. Make sure you have enough mozzarella and parmesan to give a nice layer on top.

Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. The cheese on top should be golden brown and the eggplant should be nice and tender.

When you remove it from the oven, treat it like lasagna. Let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Set broiler to 500 degrees and heat an oven-safe pan (this would be a great time to use your cast iron skillet) on medium heat. Have your oven rack set between 4-6 inches from the broiler.

Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl, then add the salt and pepper.

Once the pan is up to heat, add the clarified butter and the diced onion and the diced tomato.

Cook until the onions are translucent, about three minutes. Add the spinach and let it wilt for about a minute.

Add the eggs to the pan and fold in the vegetables but don’t scramble the eggs – let them set up on the bottom and sides of the pan. It should take about 3-4 minutes. If your pan is too hot, the eggs will burn, so watch your temp. When the eggs still look wet on top but you can tell they are cooking through, turn off the heat on the stove.

Put the sliced tomato on the top of the semi-cooked eggs along with the lemon juice and zest.

Transfer the pan to the broiler and let it cook 3-4 minutes or until the top is golden brown. When it’s finished cooking slice and serve. It could also be served at room temperature for a picnic.