Pizza Florentine

Legend has it that Pizza Florentine was invented as a breakfast pizza in Italy, but is often eaten today as an unadorned single-course meal.

However you eat it–for breakfast, lunch, or dinner–the pizza combines some of my personal favorite earthy Italian spices with warm, gooey, melted cheese, rich red tomato sauce, and a hearty crust.  It’s no wonder an egg goes so well with these other flavors! It’s breakfast AND pizza.

Pizza Florentine

This recipe is my own adaptation of a Florence classic: spinach & cheese pizza w/eggs to garnish.

Ingredients:

* 1 serving pizza dough

* 1-2 cups red sauce, to taste

* 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed

* salt & pepper, to taste

* Italian herbs, to taste (I suggest thyme, rosemary, and parsley)

* 2 cups spinach

* 4 eggs

1.) Preheat oven to 375F.  On a clean, well-floured surface, roll out pre-made pizza dough into a circular round.  Transfer to a pizza stone that has been sprinkled with corn meal.

2.) Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons olive oil on dough and brush to coat.  Using a fork, evenly pierce the dough all over.

3.) Dress Pizza: take 1-2 cups red tomato sauce and spread on pizza; season with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs–I used a combination of thyme, rosemary, and parsley; top with spinach, mozzarella, and the last of your seasonings (again with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs).

4.) Bake pizza for 20-25 minutes, or until pizza is done, but not fully.  Remove pizza from oven and crack 4 eggs in the center.  Return pizza to oven and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes.  You want the eggs to be done so that the whites are cooked, but the yolk is still warm and sauce-like when the pizza is cut into slices.

5.) Remove pizza from oven and allow to rest for five minutes.  Cut into slices using a pizza cutter, or a Mezzaluna and serve.

Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

–Helana Brigman

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