Greek Breakfast Casserole

Two weeks to June 19th. I am at school until the 18th — last day of school is the day before the wedding — which is a scheduling fact that is either chaotic or perfect, and I have chosen to regard it as perfect. The last day of the school year has always been one of my favorite days in teaching: the particular energy of students who have grown, who are ready for what is next, who will need a different classroom in September. I will see them at the end of that day and then I will go get married. I think this is the right order.

This week has been a pre-wedding gift in the form of a completely normal week: I taught, Ryan worked, we cooked dinner on his off days, Patty called at 7:15, Babcia Rose called to report on her pierogi progress (she is making four dozen for the wedding, which is more than enough and exactly right). I made a big pan of shakshuka on Saturday evening and we ate it at the table and did not talk about the wedding at all, just ate eggs in tomato sauce and talked about other things, and I thought: this is also the thing. Not just the wedding. All the Saturdays.

My students have end-of-year presentations this week — each of them sharing something they have learned or accomplished — and I spent most of Thursday in tears that I was successfully not showing. J did a reading presentation at a level that would have been impossible in September. A walked himself to every session independently all semester. T wrote three sentences about his weekend without help. These are the things that look small from the outside. They are not small.

Two weeks. I bought a very small something blue — a thin bracelet — at a jewelry shop near school, because it was nine dollars and it was pretty and sometimes you do the tradition for the story it gives you later.

That Saturday shakshuka was the meal that clarified everything for me — eggs, tomatoes, something warm and undemanding on the stove while we just existed in the kitchen together. This Greek Breakfast Casserole captures exactly that spirit: Mediterranean flavors, eggs baked into a savory tomato base, the kind of dish that asks nothing of you except to sit down and eat it slowly. It’s what I’ll be making on all the Saturdays after the wedding too.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Crusty bread or pita, for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or a large oven-safe skillet with olive oil.
Build the base. In the skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5–6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add tomatoes and seasoning. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices, oregano, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Simmer 5 minutes, letting the sauce thicken slightly.
Add spinach and olives. Fold in the chopped spinach and Kalamata olives and stir until the spinach is just wilted. Sprinkle half the feta over the sauce.
Nest the eggs. Use a spoon to create 6 shallow wells in the tomato mixture. Crack one egg into each well. Season the eggs lightly with salt and pepper.
Bake. Transfer the skillet to the oven (or pour mixture into the prepared baking dish first). Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still slightly soft. Check at 20 minutes — they will continue cooking briefly after you pull the dish from the oven.
Finish and serve. Remove from oven. Scatter the remaining feta and fresh parsley over the top. Serve directly from the pan with crusty bread or warm pita for scooping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Greek Breakfast Casserole — The Saturdays That Hold Everything Together