More Pizza. Because Pizza with Eggs.

Like my last post, this one is a little bit of a repeat, but whatever. I have a special place in my heart (and stomach) for golden, runny egg yolks. A very, very special place. And an even more special place for pizza with eggs. For this pizza, I found inspiration from all of the wonderful broccoli rabe recipes floating around the internet. I love the bright greens of spring. I love when eating light and eating healthy tastes and looks so great. To keep this pizza light and healthy(ish), I made it sans sauce (although a creamy white sauce would probably be amazing) and instead brushed olive oil on the crust. I also kept the cheese fairly light. The star of this pizza really is the broccoli rabe and the eggs. AND I made my own crust for this pizza. I hate taking the time and effort to measure things out, so I don't often bake but I decided to challenge myself today. I had to use my extra-concentration powers. If you know me at all, you know this is seriously difficult for me.

Once I made the dough, I realized it probably wasn't going to be quite enough for me and my guests, so I decided to make another pizza. When I saw Meyer lemons at the store, I remembered a recipe I had seen a long time ago for a pizza with Meyer lemons and decided to try it out. [This is the link to the original recipe - http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/01/meyer-lemon-pizza/]. For my version, I decided to grab some arugula, mozzarella, and parmesan, mostly because I couldn't remember what went onto the pizza other than Meyer lemons.

To go along with this pizza and keep the seasonal produce theme going, I served this pizza with one of my all time favorite salads. The recipe comes from this article - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?pagewanted=all - which is full of amazing salad ideas. I have tried a number of them, but the "red salad" with strawberries and tomatoes is my favorite with the carrots and blueberries being a close second. Anyways, the strawberries here in Santa Barbara have been extra lovely and abundant this year because of a fairly mild winter. And cheap. So cheap. When I saw that local strawberries were on extra sale, I knew I had to make this salad.

Beautiful!

Most of the ingredients for the red salad...except for the tomatoes with I forgot to put into the picture. Whoops! But seriously, such a delicious, easy, and fresh salad.

I believe that is enough rambling for now. Actually, first I must share this: http://www.factzoo.com/top-10-pygmy-animals.html. Teeny tiny animals are just amazingly cute. I want to carry them all around in my pockets and I would also like to snuggle them.

Okay, okay. Now recipe time.

Dough

- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp. rosemary or other herbs
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- pinch of pepper

1. Add flour and baking powder to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine dry ingredients. Create a well in the center.
2. Add wet ingredients and spices to the well. Slowly incorporate all ingredients. I found it was easiest to use my hands to combine all of the ingredients.
3. Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. I found that I had to add a little more water and oil to my dough.
4. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
5. Roll out on a floured surface.

Ready to be mixed!

All done! 

Broccoli Rabe, Potato and Egg Pizza

- Prepared dough, recipe above (or use a store bought crust)
- 1 Yukon Gold potato
- 2 cups or so mushrooms
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
- Mozzarella - preferably fresh and enough to lightly cover the pizza
- 2-4 eggs
- Parmesan - just enough to sprinkle on the top

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Thinly slice the Yukon Gold potatoes and toss with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay the slices out on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Flip the potatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
3. Turn the oven up to 450.
4. Slice the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms in olive oil or butter over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper at the very end of cooking.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the bunch of broccoli rabe and blanch for 30 seconds. Immediately drain and put in an ice bath. Once the bunch has cooled, drain it and let it dry on paper towels. Once mostly dry, cut into 1 inch pieces. Saute the rabe with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the crushed red peppers for 30 seconds.
6. Brush the dough with olive oil. If you used a store bough dough, rub with a clove of garlic as well.
7. Place the potatoes on the dough, followed by the mozzarella, then the broccoli rabe, and finally the mushrooms. Sprinkle with parmesan.
8. Bake for 8 minutes.
9. Pull the pizza out and create wells for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the wells and place back into the oven for another 8-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the egg whites have set.
10. EAT!

Lemon Arugula Pizza

- Prepared dough, recipe above (or store bought)
- 2 cups arugula
- Pinch of crushed red chili peppers
- 1/5-1/4 cup of mozzarella
- 1-2 tbsp. parmesan
- 1 Meyer lemon, thinly (VERY THINLY) sliced

1. Heat olive oil over medium/medium high heat. Add the arugula, cheese, salt, pepper and crushed red chili peppers. Stir and cook until the arugula is slightly wilted and the cheese is melted.
2. Brush the dough with olive oil (and crushed garlic if you are using store bought dough).
3. Spread the creamy arugula mixture over the pizza. Arrange the lemons on top. I sprinkled on more parmesan on top.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 450 or until crust is golden brown.
5. Nom.

*Notes:
While I enjoyed this culinary adventure, I am going to be trying this one again. The lemons were still pretty bitter and the arugula was not the perfect accompaniment. I think spinach would work better. The original post also used mascarpone, which is a little sweeter than mozzarella and would help to offset some of the bitterness a little more than mozzarella. I have some other ideas for what I want to do with this pizza. I will update the post as I make adjustments.

Before they went into the oven. It was too dark by the time I finally baked them to get a good final photo, but I can assure you that they looked gorgeous!