Lemony Arugula and Egg Pizza

A couple months ago, we had a date night. We had grand plans to do dinner and a movie. Once we were at dinner, it was so nice to just sit and talk to each other, uninterrupted by our darling munchkins, that we decided to bag the movie and just keep talking. It was an amazingly relaxing evening and just the date night that we needed.

We went to an Italian place that we haven't been to in a years. I was really sad that the pizza that I usually loved was taken off of the menu. I almost asked the waiter if the chef would make it, but I decided to venture out and try a new pizza ... one with a cracked egg on it! Paul was a little hesitant, but I jumped right in. It was delicious. The egg was a little runny for him but the yoke gave every bite that it touched a really unique taste.

Fast forward to present day and I'm still thinking about that pizza so I decided to try one myself. We've been getting tons of wonderful arugula in our CSA bin and I thought what better to go with an egg pizza than arugula. The first time I made it, I was so nervous that the egg wasn't cooking so I kept messing with the temperature and opening and closing the oven. It turned out to be like a hard boiled egg! It was quite comical. I loved how the rest of the flavors turned out so I made another one the next night to try to get the egg right and it worked. Patience is key ... and leave the temperature and oven alone, it will cook!

Paul's still a little hesitant about the runny yoke egg. He loves when I over cook the egg, but I love the yoke flavor. So even when I mess it up, it's still tasty, but don't forget the fresh lemon juice, that's the key to brightens the whole pizza!

Lemony Arugula and Egg Pizza

1 pizza crust
4 oz cream cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T parmesan, shredded or grated

1 1/2 c onion
2 T olive oil

2 oz arugula
1 c parmesan
1/2 c fresh mozzarella cut in small chunks ... I like using the ciliegine mozzarella
1 egg
1 T fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven for 425°

Mix together cream cheese, garlic cloves and 2 T parmesan. Set aside.

Caramelize your onions in the olive oil. When caramelizing onions, cook them 'low and slow' to get a nice golden brown color on them. Usually this means medium heat for 10 minutes.

On your pizza crust, spread your cream cheese sauce and top with onions. Bake for 5 minutes. Take the pizza out and top with arugula then parmesan and mozzarella.  Crack your egg in the middle and bake for another 7-9 minutes or until the egg is cooked.

Take out the pizza and drizzle the fresh lemon juice all over the pizza. Don't forget this step ... It competes the pizza in the most desirable way!