Preheat the oven to 210°C with the rack in the middle

Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise and score diagonally with a knife until almost touching the skin, brush (or spray) each of the 8 halves (cut-side) with white wine vinegar, sprinkle with salt (smoked salt is better), brush with olive oil and top with a small branch of fresh thyme, then turn over (cut-side down), place on a baking sheet with baking paper and bake for 60-70 minutes or until they collapse or flatten out a bit and let cool down

Turn each eggplant slice over (cut-side up), discard the thyme branches & carefully scrape or scoop out the flesh out and discard the charred skins

Transfer to a bowl, mash with a fork and add the lemon juice (add extra salt if necessary) and let sit for 15 minutes as you prepare the rest

Fry the grated spring onions in olive oil at medium-high for 5 minutes until tender, add the bay leaves, chopped anchovies and black olives (or capers), the crushed garlic, salt and pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, then lower heat to medium or medium-low and add the mashed eggplant and fresh aromatic herbs and cook until slightly reduced and fragrant for an additional 15-20 minutes, cover with a lid and keep warm

Note : I often double or triple the quantities for jarring and storing away so if you plan to do the same, prepare some sterilized jars, transfer the very warm eggplant sauce to the very warm jars that were heated in the oven (but washed and sterilized before), fill up to the top but leave 1-2 cm of free space, close tightly with a lid, turn upside down and let cool down before storing in a cool place or refrigerator (you should add, per 1 kg of prepared recipe quantity, 1 tsp more salt, ½ tbsp more lemon juice or 1-2 pinches of citric acid powder and 2 tbsp more olive oil to the sauce to be jarred, for safer and longer storage periods in a cold cellar or refrigerator…

Boil the pasta in salted water (about 1 tbsp of coarse salt for each liter of water) until ready, reserve ½ cup of pasta water, strain the pasta and add the hot pasta to the warm eggplant sauce and toss, add ¼ cup – ½ cup of hot pasta water until desired sauce thickness is achieved, mix again, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese, some extra herbs and serve.