Pizza for Breakfast: Bacon, Egg, Asparagus and Arugula

I am a total pizza addict. I try to limit the amount of pizza that actually makes it from my kitchen to this blog, but this one deserved a little attention. Amazingly, given my penchant for this perfect food, I had never cracked an egg on one until last weekend.

This past rainy Sunday I hosted a little brunch. It was themed – everybody brought a dish that contained eggs in some capacity. Among the dishes were two delicious frittatas, eggs in purgatory, some of the most ridiculously epic doughnuts I have EVER tasted, a classic rum punch that was apparently served on the Titanic and which we rechristened The Sinking Ship, savory egg salad wraps, and this pizza.

Eggs, bacon, asparagus and arugula on pizza is sort of like having a scramble with bacon and toast on the side, but here consumption is made easy by the fact the whole thing is served on an edible plate, no utensils required. And the anxiety of choice is eliminated because you get a little bit of everything in each bite. Most importantly, though, is that there is no longer any need to feel guilty about having pizza for breakfast.

Pizza with Bacon, Asparagus and Egg

16 oz pizza dough (can be purchased from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and the like)
4-5 stalks asparagus, sliced thinly on the diagonal
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
8 ounces manchego cheese, grated (can substitute mozzarella or other cheese)
3 eggs
arugula
olive oil
salt + pepper
cornmeal

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place pizza stone in oven to preheat it as well. (You can use a cookie sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone.)

Roll dough on floured surface until nice and thin. Have all toppings prepared and at hand near oven.

Remove hot pizza stone from oven. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Arrange dough on stone, brush olive oil over surface, and sprinkle with salt. Acting quickly, sprinkle first cheese, then bacon and finally asparagus over dough and place in the oven.

At about 5 minutes, which will be your halfway point, remove pizza from oven. Crack three eggs over pizza. Return to oven and cook for another 5 minutes, until whites have set. You can cook it a little longer if you’d like firmer yolks.

Remove from oven and immediately spread arugula over pizza. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve.