My recent success with homemade pizza has my head spinning. I keep thinking about pizza and all the different pizzas I could make. I had enough dough left in the fridge for one more small pizza so I gave in to the version that intrigued me the most, Chorizo Breakfast Pizza.
On my way to the Mexican market in town for pizza makings, I stopped in at Tractor Supply. I spent a little time chatting with a nice couple who are just getting into raising backyard chickens. "Hi," if you're reading! Good luck with your new chickens!
After picking up a few supplies and things I don't really need, I headed to the front to check out. Then I saw it! Hobby Farm Homes magazine "Homemade Pizza" edition! Of course, it went straight into my shopping cart!
I thumbed through it in the parking lot and saw that my breakfast pizza idea was not unique, in fact I got inspired to change my plan a bit and add hot peppers to my breakfast pizza. The magazine has over 50 pizza recipes including, breakfast and dessert pies, kid-friendly fare, and barbecued pizza. Hold on Michael, this is going to be a bumpy ride! I picked up some chorizo, cheese, and salsa at the Mexican market and headed home to make my pizza.
I did my own thing with this pizza but I saw lots of other recipes I will be trying.
I removed the casing from the chorizo and browned it in a non-stick skillet. The chorizo they make fresh at the market is so good. It is nothing like the stuff that comes in plastic tubes in the grocery store. If you can find good chorizo it is so worth the effort. The grocery store stuff is granular when cooked and swimming in grease. There was almost no grease left after cooking El Charro's house-made chorizo. After cooking the chorizo I used the same pan to lightly cook thinly sliced rings of poblano and jalapeño peppers.
I got ambitious and made a stuffed crust for my breakfast pizza. All I did was shape my circle of dough, lay strips of mozzarella around the edges, fold it over and crimp. I used chunky salsa instead of pizza sauce since this breakfast pizza was all about Mexican flavors.
I topped the salsa with grated mozzarella and this dry cotija cheese. The combination was perfect.
I sprinkled on some chorizo and the peppers before putting it in a 500 degree preheated oven on a pizza stone. About five minutes before it was ready to come out of the oven I cracked three small fresh eggs on top and put it back in the oven to finish. I probably should have taken it out a minute or so earlier but despite the yolk being almost set, the pizza was delicious! The jalapeños added a nice hot kick and the chorizo was rich and tasty. The cotija cheese added a nice saltiness. Fresh torn cilantro leaves cooled things down.
Ingredients
- Small pizza crust (store-bought or homemade)
- 6 oz chorizo sausage
- ½ large poplano pepper (thinly sliced, membrane removed)
- 1 small serrano or jalapeño pepper (thinly sliced, membrane and seeds removed)
- ¼ cup chunky salsa
- 1-1.5 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- Dry cotija cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degree with a pizza stone on the middle rack if you have one. Assemble your pizza on a piece of parchment paper so it will be easier to slide onto the stone. If you don't have a pizza stone, use a pizza or baking pan.
- In a skillet cook the chorizo until browned. Pour off any excess fat and dry on paper towel if necessary. In the same pan sauté the pepper rings until they just begin to soften. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Spread salsa to within ½ inch of pizza crust edge. Top with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the cooked chorizo in an even layer and top with the peppers. Add a little dry cojita cheese.
- Bake pizza in a preheated 500 degree oven on a pizza stone, if possible. Cook until the cheese starts to melt and gets barely brown. Crack 1-3 eggs even on pizza top and continue baking until the eggs yolks are just set. Garnish with torn cilantro leaves.
