breakfast pizza | sunny-side up egg, sun-dried tomato, spinach & honey goat cheese

Spiced Lavender Mocha. Brunch done right.

Soon after moving to Savannah, I realized that brunch is a big deal.  Everyone here brunches. Last Sunday I brunched at the Aussie Savannah Restaurant, The Collins Quarter (click for website). As we sat around the table, we talked about home brewed espresso and then quiches. My friend explained his idea of a perfect quiche. Spinach, goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. It was decided, brunch would be at our place the following weekend (which is today) and mimosas were not optional.

croquettes. white chocolate fountain. fruit. mimosas. homemade everything bagels. lox. pimento cheese ham wraps. crab empanadas. red pepper jelly. coffee.

We brunched so hard today. Our friends brought over fabulous finger food fit for a feast. What did I make? The damn delicious Breakfast Pizza! Yes I’m shocked… I’m an Italian, we don’t crack eggs on our pizza. But I’m sure glad I did. This freaking incredible breakfast delight was inspired by all the flavors of my friend’s favorite quiche.

The best part? I slept in late (after a night downtown), ran to the store, showered and made pizza. All before 11 am. This is such an easy crowd-pleasing brunch staple.

 

ingredients

• 12 ounces of fresh pizza dough (store bought)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• garlic powder
• 4-5 ounces honey goat cheese (any goat cheese flavor will do)
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 1 jar sun dried tomatoes, sliced
• 3-4 handfuls of spinach
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper
• pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated
• chives or scallions, minced
• red pepper flakes (optional if you are a wuss)

preparation

1. Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 500° (keep pizza stone or baking sheet in oven as it preheats).
2.  Let dough stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a floured surface. Carefully remove pizza stone or pan from oven. Arrange dough on pizza stone.
4. Brush olive oil over dough. Spread crushed garlic cloves over dough. Sprinkle garlic powder all over. Top evenly with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, grated pecorino romano cheese and mozzarella.
5. Pile handfuls of spinach on top.
6. Bake for 5-6 minutes, until spinach is wilted and crust is not raw.
7. Take pizza out of oven and crack eggs over top of pizza; sprinkle evenly with pecorino romano cheese, salt and pepper.
8. Bake until crust is browned and crisp and egg whites are white.
9. Sprinkle with chives. Cut into slices. Add red pepper flakes if you like it *spicy*.

 

I’ve had greasy gas station breakfast pizza before. The eggs were scrambled and fake-on (fake bacon) bits were sprinkled all over it. Don’t eat that crap anymore guys. Make this.

The store bought pizza dough makes this recipe convenient, especially when you are the host of a brunch. Make your own dough if you would like, I know it would be dynamite. The sun-dried tomatoes added a sweet pungent bite, whereas fresh tomato would have been too dull. The honey goat cheese maintained a savory zing, but had a soft sweetness that went perfectly with this pizza. The spinach, garlic and chives added bright spring-like freshness and when broken, the eggs leaked out silky and creamy yolk.

Heck eat this for dinner if you have to. Don’t wait another minute.