Egg on this: Pizza
February 23, 2013
Yesterday was an excellent day. Not only was it National Margarita day (which means today is National the day after National Margarita Day), but I also disgusted a t:e reader by using store-bought eggs. Presumably this individual pulls them out of his hens' claocas moments before cooking breakfast. Those of us who do not live on or near a farm have to rely on places like Whole Foods for our eggs. I'm coming to terms with this.
But I did go ahead and totally put that egg on that pizza. Last night's selection of pizze (we speak Italian here at t:e) included a thyme/mushroom/taleggio/egg pie.
The mushrooms were harvested by someone else, and I did not make the cheese. The dough, however, is always made by hand, here at t:e headquarters, as I've described in the past. I use a sourdough starter, which has lived in my fridge for about 6 years, and a combination of King Arthur bread flour and Caputo '00' flour (please don't pronounce this as "doppio zero"). 3 day cold ferment.
Earthiness is the main theme of this pie. As such, the fresh thyme gets loaded on. Much more than you'd think. Crushed red pepper. S/P. A couple of halved cherry tomatoes for brightness and sweetness. A mix of mushrooms, which were sauteed in olive oil, are scattered about. On goes the cheese. In the very hot oven on the very hot stone for 2 minutes, then the factory-farmed-pain-and-suffering eggs are cracked on top, and into the other very hot oven under the very hot broiler for a minute or so to finish.
Top with some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, cut, and spread that yolk around.
Eggs can, and should, go on just about anything. They are an instant sauce-in-a-shell, and that sauce is perfect for all kinds of pizzas. I mean pizze.