What’s your favourite kind of pizza? I really like a vegetarian pizza or a Pizza Quattro Stagioni (especially the one at our favourite local Italian restaurant). My husband’s favourite pizza? Pizza Florentine, featuring a lightly baked egg surrounded by spinach and mozzarella cheese.
Now this may sound odd, but not only is the combination of spinach and egg a healthy one, it’s also very delicious. Traditionally there are also olives on a Pizza Florentine, but my husband loathes them so I substitute thinly sliced red peppers.
I wanted to make an homage to my husband’s favourite pizza at home for a long time and I finally got round to it a couple weeks ago. It turned out so well, I’ve already made it again! When we make pizza at home I usually make the dough in the bread maker, but of course you can use or make absolutely any pizza crust you like for this recipe.
You can, of course, double or triple the ingredients to make more than one Pizza Florentine. It is best made as a personal pizza though as it has the egg in the centre.
Pizza Florentine – Printable Recipe
Pizza Florentine
Ingredients
- pizza dough enough for one personal pizza
- 2 to 3 tablespoons tomato sauce or passata passata is sieved tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 8 ounces spinach, lightly steamed and thoroughly drained of all liquid
- ¼ cup grated Mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red pepper or use about 2 tablespoons pitted, sliced black olives
- 1 large egg free range, pasture raised or organic if possible
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Roll out the pizza dough and shape into a personal size pizza base.
- Spread the pizza base with the tomato sauce or passata to within about one inch of the edge.
- Allow the sauce topped pizza base to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to about 375 to 400 ℉ (or about 180 to 190℃) depending on how fierce your oven is. If you have a fan oven, I recommend 175°C.
- Remove the pizza base from the fridge. Scatter all over with the oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
- Arrange the drained spinach on the pizza in a slightly raised circle about three inches from the edge, leaving a round hole in the centre for the egg.
- Crack the egg into a bowl and pour it very gently into the centre of the spinach circle, keeping the yolk intact.
- Sprinkle the pizza with the grated Mozzarella cheese, avoiding the egg.
- Arrange the red pepper slices around the egg over top of the cheese.
- Scatter all over with the oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, the egg is cooked to your liking and the crusts is starting to turn golden.
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