While I was living in Japan, I ate my fill of Japanese foods: ramen, soba, udon, katsu, yakitori, curry, tempura, sushi, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, anything remotely Japanese, I was all over it. But sometimes, out of nowhere, a pizza craving would hit and the call for that piping hot crispy combination of savory tomato sauce and gooey cheese could not be ignored. I tried to sate the beast with these little pizza kits that I found at our neighborhood supermarket. They had dough, sauce and some shredded cheese packaged neat and tidy into individualized compartments, and then in a larger more elaborate package. I had high hopes, really, I did, but after baking up and inhaling the little guys, I had to admit to myself, they just didn’t hit the spot. I wanted a bubbly charred crisp crust, I wanted simple perfection, I wanted a Neapolitan style pizza.
Luckily, there’s actually a place in Tokyo that’s famous for Neapolitan style pizza. Located on the main drag of Nakameguro – Tokyo’s answer to Brooklyn – is Da Isa, an unassuming little pizza joint that happens to have a Naples award-winning pizza chef. There are constantly lines out the door so of course Mike and I decided to give it a go.
We went for lunch. Our lunch decision was two-fold: avoiding the long dinner lines and the massively discounted lunch pizzas. The menu was in Japanese (of course) and Italian. I can barely read Japanese, and since the Japanese menu was basically the Italian menu translated phonetically into Japanese, we looked at the Italian menu. Mike decided on a classic margherita and I went with the margherita alla cocca, which sounded good, but mysterious.
Imagine my delight when my pizza came out, steaming hot from a short stint in a wood burning oven, the tomatoes glistening with a slick of extra virgin olive oil, the crust charred and bubbly, and in the middle, a lovely mess of glowing orange-yellow yolk surrounded by fluffy clouds of whites. It was an egg on a pizza, of course! Eggs on pizza are not novel to me and usually when I see one on the menu, it’s what I gravitate towards. I just love how the raw yolk mixes in with the sauce and cheese.
Speaking of raw yolks, everything that could go wrong with the pizza I made did: the eggs were over cooked, the bottom crust was soggy, my photos didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to. Overall, it turned out to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I asked Mike for a hug and he gave me one, of course, but also asked me why I cared so much. The correct answer should have been, I don’t. But, lately I’ve been spiraling in a hole of self-doubt. I feel like my photos aren’t good enough, my recipes are uninspired, my writing lacking. Sometimes I get into these moods and it takes me forever to get myself out.
Serious stuff for a Sunday, I know. So I’ll just leave you with this: we fixed the pizza. Mike suggested throwing it into a cast-iron pan to crisp up the bottom on the stove. It totally worked. The eggs didn’t magically revert back to their raw state, but the crispy-crunchy crust did make me feel just a little bit better.
Wishing you guys a happy, confident, sunny Sunday!
xoxo, love and potatoes,
steph
PS – There are still a couple of days to vote for your favorites in the Saveur Food Blog Awards! So many of my favorite blogs are up, make their day and give them a vote!
Tomato and Egg Breakfast Pizza Recipe
makes 1 pizza
- 1 portion no-knead pizza dough or pizza dough of choice
- oil
- cornmeal, if desired
- 2-3 tablespoons pizza sauce or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- red pepper flakes
Arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to its hottest setting, 500°–550°.
Lightly oil a baking sheet and dust lightly with cornmeal, if desired. Shape dough into a circle, pushing gently. Spread on the sauce and top with the shredded mozzarella. Top with the cherry tomatoes and eggs. Sprinkle on the parmesan and a generous amount salt and freshly ground pepper. Place in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is puffy, crisp and slightly blistered. Enjoy immediately. If the bottom crust is slightly soggy, heat in a cast-iron pan over low-heat until crisp.
I LOVE this pizza. I am an egg nut to start with. It’s hard to come up with something innovative for
breakfast—albeit I love breakfast food a LOT. This is wonderful.
This pizza is just lovely <3 Runny egg yolks on everything, please!
And that thing about self-doubt? Been there, still am. It's frustrating but probably an inevitable part of this creative work. Love you and your recipes, pics, and words. Xo!
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to post. It sucks you’re in a bit of a rut right now, but I’d like to take a moment and vehemently disagree with you…I adore your pictures, adore your recipes. Even this post, especially this post. And what better writing can you get than honesty? I feel like this too, occasionally, and I try to remind myself that you can’t appreciate the better moments in life without something poor to compare them to. Take some time, go out to eat someplace new, go find some random gourmet market you’ve never been to before. Sometimes you have to give yourself a platform to let new ideas come to you. Take care of yourself. Best.
I always feel really bad when I screw up a recipe- partly because I spend so much time cooking and partly because then we don’t have anything to eat. My husband always gently reminds me that it’s okay, no one’s perfect all the time, and gives me a hug. And then I go make pasta.
Love your photos and the way you write. Beautiful blog- nicely done!