This casserole is a pretty time consuming dish, but the end result is surprisingly delicious. There are a couple ways to speed up the process, but I’ve found that the end result is more consistent with this recipe. The toughest part of the dish is getting the amount of salt right. If the eggplants are not wiped after drawing the moisture out, this will easily become far too salty. This is best served with a fluffy, white bread and a sweet and light red wine.

• 3-4 medium sized eggplants
• 1-2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium sized onions, diced
• 300g Spinach
• 3-4 tbsp coarse salt
• ~1dl thyme, chopped
• 800ml canned tomatoes
• 300g good quality mozzarella
• parmesan cheese, grated

1. Cut the eggplants into 1cm slices. Arrange them onto a lined tray or a colander and salt them with coarse salt. Let the moisture draw out for 30-45 minutes and dry the slices with a paper towel.
2. Sauteé the onion, then add the canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower to medium-high heat.
3. Bring a large pot of slated water to boil, and blanch the spinach. If you want the spinach to maintain a vibrant color, have a bowl of iced water to submerge the blanched spinach in.
4. Squeeze spinach to remove excess fluid, and chop coarsely.
5. Brush the dried eggplant slices with olive oil and pan fry them in batches on high heat. The slices should be mostly cooked after this point. This is the most time consuming process, so if you want to save time, you can bake the slice in a 200°C oven for ~30minutes.
6. Once the canned tomatoes have started to break down, add the chopped bell peppers and the thyme. Season the sauce lightly, as the eggplants can be quite salty.
7. Lightly oil your casserole dish and start assembling. Start with a layer of tomato sauce, then eggplant slices, the sliced mozzarella and spinach. Repeat the layers, ending with tomato sauce.
8. Grate parmesan onto the top, and bake for 45 minutes in 200°C. After taking it out of the oven, allow it to settle for 5-10 minutes.