Last updated on October 21st, 2013
ON A RECENT VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, I enjoyed brunch at Russell House Tavern. Their “Breakfast Pizza” was a dream! It featured a crackling crisp crust. And it was dressed to the nines with cheese, spinach, bacon, whole eggs and fresh, fragrant herbs. One bite, and I knew I’d have to make this deliciousness at home.
Breakfast Pizza
Inspired by The Russell House Tavern in Cambridge, MA
Ingredients for one 12-inch pizza, serving 2 to 4 people
1 very thin, pre-baked pizza crust, 12-inches in diameter*
1 cup (or slightly more) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and finely-chopped as described below
1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
6 slices bacon, crisply fried and coarsely chopped
4 large, local eggs
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
3 scallions, finely-sliced
5 (or more) chives, finely-sliced
2 tablespoons finely-minced flat-leaved parsley
*For my version of this pizza, I purchased a thin, pre-baked crust from my local supermarket. If you’d prefer to make your own crust, by all means do so. Just remember to stretch the dough as thinly as you can, and then pre-bake it on a pizza stone for maximum crispness. The pie itself is baked directly on an oven rack.
To start, fry the bacon until brown and crisp.
Let the bacon drain on paper towels…
And then coarsely chop it (or tear it) into pieces.
Now grab a box of frozen spinach*, and let it thaw overnight in the fridge. Or, do what I did, and simply stick the box in the microwave, and heat it on “high” for exactly 5 minutes.
(*You can substitute 2 pounds of fresh spinach for a 10 ounce box of frozen. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes, and then chill them in ice water for another 2 minutes. Then drain and squeeze the greens as described below.)
Drop the thawed spinach into a sieve set over a bowl, and let it drain.
Then transfer the greens to your prettiest kitchen towel…
And, twisting the four corners of the towel, squeeze out all the liquid you can.
Dump the greens onto a cutting board, and finely chop them.
Now take a few incredibly-handsome scallions…
And mince some flat-leaved parsley.
Then shred some mozzarella — you’ll need at least one cup (I used about 1 1/2 cups).
Grate or shred some Parmesan cheese — one half-cup will do.
And now the fun begins: Violently detach the rimless baking sheet from the hook on your wall.
Which wall? Why, the same one that houses your handy-dandy Spaetzle-maker.
Set the crust atop the rimless baking sheet.
Tip: If you don’t have a rimless baking sheet, you can create one by turning a regular baking sheet upside down.
Scatter each of the following atop the crust:
Crack 4 fresh, local eggs onto the pizza, spacing them as evenly as you can. This way, when you cut the pie into quarters, each serving will include a whole egg. Sprinkle the eggs with kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper.
No picture of this next step, because it requires two hands: Holding the pizza level with the oven rack, slide it off the baking sheet and onto the rack. This is easier than it sounds.
Bake in a preheated 500-degree until the cheeses melt and the eggs set softly — about 8 minutes.
Tip: For firmly-set eggs, bake the pizza for an additional 2 minutes or so. Just don’t overcook, or you’ll end up with rubbery egg whites.
To remove the pizza from the oven, just slide it back onto the rimless baking sheet.
Then transfer the pie to a cutting board, season it with salt and pepper and garnish with chives, scallions, and the parsley.
And slice this colorful, perfectly-perfumed awesomeness into 4 sections.
Breakfast pizza ain’t just for breakfast, folks. It’s delicious any time, day or night. For lunch or dinner, I’d accompany the slices with goblets of ice-cold Sauvignon blanc.
You could eat this pizza with a fork and knife. But if you’re all by yourself, go ahead and eat it by hand…as your hopeful beagle looks on.
Well. That was a the long-way around this recipe. Here’s the shorter, copy-and-paste version:
Breakfast Pizza
Inspired by The Russell House in Cambridge, MA
Ingredients for one 12-inch pizza, or 2 to 4 servings
1 very thin, pre-baked pizza crust, 12-inches in diameter*
1 cup (or slightly more) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and finely-chopped
1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
6 slices crisply-fried bacon, coarsely chopped
4 large, local eggs
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
3 scallions, finely-sliced
5 (or more) chives, finely-sliced
2 tablespoons finely-minced flat-leaved parsleyPreheat oven to 500°F; set oven rack at lower-middle position.
Place the prebaked crust on a rimless baking sheet. Sprinkle crust with mozzarella, spinach, Parmesan and bacon. Then break the eggs onto the crust. Try to space the eggs as evenly as you can, so that when the pizza is cut into quarters, each piece will feature a whole egg.Slide the pizza off the baking sheet and onto the oven rack. Bake until the cheeses melt and eggs are softly set — about 8 minutes. If you desire firm eggs, bake for an additional 2 minutes or so. Keep an eye on the pizza to avoid over-cooked, rubbery eggs.
Transfer the baked pie to a cutting board, and sprinkle with the herbs and seasonings. Cut into 4 equal slices.
Serve while hot.
Does this breakfast pizza appeal to you? You can let me know by leaving a comment. As always, an angel gets his or her wings whenever someone posts on this site.
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PattyM says
Mmmmm looks yummy!!
Julie B says
Looks very tasty, Kevin.
I will suggest that you check your frozen spinach VERY carefully to make sure it isn’t from China. I refuse to consume anything grown there but you would be surprised at how much of our frozen spinach is imported from the People’s Republic, even some supposedly organic brands.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Julie B – You can substitute 2 pounds of fresh, local spinach for the 10 ounce box of frozen. Keep in mind that fresh greens will have to be blanched first, as described in the step-by-step directions above.
Laura says
I wonder if it is possible to cook the pizza long enough to make the eggs hard without burning the rest of the ingredients? I LOATHE jiggly eggs, but the pizza idea sounds wonderful.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Laura – I just baked another breakfast pizza for Brenda, my taste-tester. Brenda doesn’t like jiggly eggs. After 12 minutes at 500°, the eggs were firm. But they were still delicious.
Dennis R says
Uber-jealous,,,,,,,,,,Does Brenda Johnson know how lucky she is?
Alicia says
This looks delicious! I will be making it this weekend. Thank you!!!!!!
Brenda Johnson says
Oh lucky me to have popped in just in time to have some of this wonderful breakfast pizza! (it was brunch for me!) The snap of a perfectly done crust topped with creamy cheeses, crispy salty bacon, velvety eggs and what doesn’t benefit from a generous dose of fresh herbs?! This was just delicious! Thank you Kevin!!!! ( I might have shared a bit of bacon with Lily too….. sharing is good right?)
John H says
Yes, those people in the Northeast really know how to make a good breakfast pizza. I used to get one similar when I visited the in-laws place up in Maine. If I remember correctly, this place though had a thicker crust because they would lay out all of the meats, then pour scrambled eggs onto the pizza.
Trudi Dido says
yep John we do it like that with Armenian sojouk ( spicey dried beef sausage) and scrambled eggs poured over the top and call it Bizza at the local pizza place which serve it on Sunday mornings
Annie says
Sounds delicious!!! I think I might just make this for dinner tonight!! Thanks so much Kevin.
Jo says
What a great idea for breakfast! Never thought of eggs and pizza. Thanks for sharing Kevin.
Janet Ortega says
Looks delightful! I’m from the Northeast but have lived in AZ for many years now & have ne er seen this before. I wanted to make it today…it looks really great but alas no Bacon and no spinach & I live about 10 miles from town, boo hoo! Well next weekend!
Joann says
HI KEVIN…..That pizza looks delicious. I will try it soon….am sure the family will love it. I am up to my eyeballs in zucchini so this looks like a easy meal to put together. Love all your receipes!!
Rebecca says
I’m looking forward to trying this pizza….I may add red sweet peppers to it as well. As a former bed and breakfast owner, I wish I’d had this recipe then!
Karen says
I have never heard of this before…but your pictures make it so mouth watering… I am going to make this. I hope it turns out just as colorful as yours. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Valerie C. says
I love this too! My son, who is not a big pizza fan said he wants to make this with me. It’s funny, today he said, “Any good recipes from Kevin today?” I guess I make so many of your recipes that the kids feel like they know you 🙂
Cape May Chic says
Great idea- thanks for sharing, Kevin. Makes me wonder about other interesting combos to come up with. Anything ‘pizza’ and I’m there!
kim says
My grandson would love this!!!!
Rebecca H says
The pizza looks delicious, but I’m writing to tell you that you won the quote of the week:
Which wall? Why, the same one that houses your handy-dandy Spaetzle-maker.
I am still laughing! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes and even more so for always making me smile.
Donna Schumacher says
Glad I signed up for your emails. Loved the walk through your garden. Beautiful! Recipe sounds great, looks yummy. Will have to try.
Jan H says
Hi Kevin,
Here is a really quick and yummy recipe for pizza dough : Just mix together 1 cup of self raising wholemeal (wholewheat) flour and 1 cup of your Greek style yoghurt. You might need to add more flour until you get the right consistency. Knead for a minute or two and then roll out. And that’s it!! This will make enough for one pizza, so I usually double it.
Sheryl says
I have ten laying hens and am always looking for more ways to use eggs!
after 2 tries (I made my own pizza dough, but the problem was in the pre-baking…luckily I had enough dough for 2 crusts!) I made this for dinner tonight. The only ingredient I didn’t have was the spinach…but I rooted around in the freezer and found – at-da! – turnip green frozen from my garden. You have to like turnip greens (and I do), but it turned out great. (Well, I did have one scary moment in the transfer to the baking rack: almost lost one of the eggs!)
Thanks again, Kevin.