Spicy jalapeño and green chilies mixed with cream cheese and topped with pepper jack, sweet hot peppers, a perfectly baked egg, avocado, and cilantro.
inspired by Leite’s Culinaria Breakfast Pizza Recipe
You start with a grey morning. Low clouds lick the remaining leaves on the trees making them glisten and drip. A warm bed abandoned, cool floorboards, the furnace rumbles. Even with the time change still not quite enough sleep but hot black coffee suggests action and a refrigerator full of abandoned projects including last night’s dinner interrupted suggests a plan.
Take the pizza dough that you made last night but then never used out of the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 350.
Outside the kitchen window the hummingbirds spar for sugar water. Last fall you almost took the nectar away afraid that birds were staying just for you. A myth. Those tiny flashes of crimson don’t migrate or not because of you.
Divide the dough into two balls approximately five ounces each- less would be fine, but more would be excessive. Dust your rolling surface with cornmeal and roll out the dough into 7-10 inch rounds. IF the dough is tense and tends to spring back talk to it in a soothing voice, tell it that sometimes all you need is time and then let it rest until it loosens up.
Rinse the cornmeal from your fingertips, sigh, drink the coffee before it gets cold and taste the bitter on your tongue.
In a microwave safe bowl combine cream cheese and roasted green chilies (Perhaps use Mezzetta Hot Fire-Roasted Green Chili Peppers but any green chili will work) and heat until spreadable and soft. Stir to thoroughly combine and spread the mixture evenly on the rolled out dough. Take it all the way to the edge and then roll up the edges of the dough to form a dam high enough to keep the egg in. (At this point if you aren’t too lazy and/or you really love bacon you could add par baked bacon like the inspiration recipe suggests. If not then just) Add the sliced jalapenos and sprinkle lightly with shredded Parmesan,
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes until dough is just turning brown. If your pizza stone is still in the oven from the pizza you baked last night then place the baking sheet directly on there.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the egg taking care to not let the still liquid egg white escape its doughy cage. Top with shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese and diced sweet hot peppers. Return to the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes until the egg white has set. To crisp the bottoms of the pizzas pull the parchment off the pan and place directly on the pizza stone for the last few minutes of baking.
Remove from oven and allow to set. If everything has cooked as planned the yolk should still be soft and the whites should be completely set.
Make one more cup of coffee so you have a hot beverage to accompany the feast. Sit down with someone you love or half the recipe and skip this step.
Eat warm with avocado, cilantro, and a splash of hot sauce because today you want it spicy. Today you crave the heat.
Outside the sky is still grey and you suspect it will stay that way. But you are full and warm and wide awake. Embrace the day.
individual jalapeño popper breakfast pizzas
Ingredients
- Approximately 10 ounces of unbaked pizza dough
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1 heaping Tbsp roasted green chilies
- 10-14 slices pickled jalapeno
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsps shredded Parmesan
- 2 Tbsps Sweet or Sweet Hot red peppers diced
- about ½-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese
- avocado and cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Take the pizza dough out of the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 350.
- Divide the dough into two balls approximately five ounces each- less would be fine, but more would be excessive. Dust your rolling surface with cornmeal and roll out the dough into 7-10 inch rounds. If the dough is tense and tends to spring back let it rest until it loosens up.
- In a microwave safe bowl combine cream cheese and roasted green chilies (I love the Mezzetta Hot Fire-Roasted Green Chili Peppers but any green chili will work) and heat until spreadable and soft. Stir to thoroughly combine and spread the mixture evenly on the rolled out dough. Take it all the way to the edge and then roll up the edges of the dough to form a dam high enough to keep the egg in. (At this point if you aren’t too lazy and/or you really love bacon you could add par baked bacon like the inspiration recipe suggests. If not then just) Add the sliced jalapenos and sprinkle lightly with shredded Parmesan,
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 10-15 minutes until dough is just turning brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the egg taking care to not let the still liquid egg white escape its doughy cage. Top with shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese and diced sweet hot peppers. Return to the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes until the egg white has set. To crisp the bottoms of the pizzas pull the parchment off the pan and place directly on the pizza stone for the last few minutes of baking.
- Remove from oven and allow to set. If everything has cooked as planned the yolk should still be soft and the whites should be completely set.
- Eat warm. Garnish with avocado and/or cilantro if desired.
Notes
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