Sausage, Egg and Asparagus Pizza...

Sausage and eggs... you'll find that duo fairly often as our breakfast, most notably on the weekends, but what's a good way to work them into dinner, in a not-so-traditional fashion? Toss it all onto a pizza and call it dinner, of course! We did just that for our Friday Pizza Night by making this Sausage, Egg and Asparagus Pizza.

For a fairly thin crust, we blitzed together the twelve-ounce version of our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough - though, if you want a chewier base, bump it up to the pound recipe to give yourself more bulk to work with. We did go the extra mile and roll the sides of the dough onto itself, building a thick ring around the edge - I suggest you do the same and you'll see why in a minute. Since the toppings are going to be fairly moist on this pizza, we gave the stretched out round a few minutes in the oven to give it a head start - not too long, just until the bottom begins to crisp and is lightly golden.

While the crust was occupied in the oven, we moved on to the toppings by browning a couple links of sweet Italian sausage, crumbling them with a sturdy wooden spatula into meaty nuggets as they cooked. With the sausage scooped out to drain, sliced shallots went in next, followed shortly by sliced fresh asparagus to briefly feel the heat, leaving the spears with a civilized bite.

You'll notice we haven't mentioned a sauce at all and that's because there isn't one with this pizza - after scattering the vegetables and sausage all over the top of the crust, what holds those ingredients together, in spite of said sauce, is quite simply a bowl of eggs, scrambled together with a dose of salt and fresh ground black pepper. This is why the rim around the crust is a good idea... think of it as extra insurance so the eggs won't even dare think about flowing over in the oven!

Topped off with a smattering of shredded Fontina and sharp white cheddar, the pizza goes back into the oven for a second bake, which sets the eggs to a puffy, moist curd and melts the cheeses into a gooey slick. Like a big breakfast spread, assembled together on a crisp, edible canvas, the combination of the soft eggs, mild onion-y shallots and sweet sausage did feel a bit heavy at first, but with the bright, tender-crisp asparagus breaking through the richness, the pizza balanced itself out quite nicely. If you're havin' a cravin' for bacon, substitute a few smoky strips instead of the sausage (or go for a gluttonous glory with both!) and cook the shallots in a bit of the leftover drippings. Crumble the bacon and add it when you would have done the sausage.

Recipes
Sausage, Egg and Asparagus Pizza