I spotted this recipe on a list of top Food and Wine recipes from 2021. I printed it immediately, because, well, breakfast, smoky, pizza, eggs… what’s not to love?!

Chef Justin Bazdarich makes this Kind Brother pizza at Speedy Romeo in Brooklyn extra decadent with a combination of bechamel and smoked mozzarella. Here’s a snap of the online menu; I’ve got my eye on White Album, and they deliver nationwide!

From google: “Justin Bazdarich was born in Kansas City and attended the French Culinary Institute. Justin worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten for 9 years opening 15 restaurants for him during that period. Justin opened his first location of Speedy Romeo in 2012, followed by a second location in the Lower East Side in 2015. Justin’s newest project is Oxomoco, which opened in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood in 2018.”

What also attracted me to this recipe is the use of smoked mozzarella, a cheese I love to use in melted form!

Smoky Breakfast Pizzas
Makes 4

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing pans
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 pound fresh prepared pizza dough, but into 4 pieces, at room temperature
All-purpose flour, for dusting
6 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/2 cup thinly sliced mixed wild mushrooms
Crushed red pepper, to taste
4 large eggs

Process basil, oil, and garlic in a food processor until smooth, about 25 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl; season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with racks in upper third and lower third positions. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with oil.

I gave the mushroom slices a little sear in some garlic oil for more flavor and color.

I also used some of this wild mushroom product because I could only buy portobellas for these pizzas.

Dust 1 dough piece with flour, and place on a lightly floured work surface; stretch into a 7″ circle. Transfer to prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough pieces. I have 2 remaining tubes of Pillsbury pizza dough from making pizzas with my grand kids, so I decided to use that up. I prefer thick-crust pizza, but I might have used a bit too much!

Sprinkle dough circles evenly with mozzarella, Pecorino, and mushrooms, leaving a 1/2″ border for the crust. Sprinkle pizzas with salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.

Bake in preheated oven until crusts are puffed and starting to brown, 7 to 9 minutes.

Remove pizzas from oven. Using the back of a spoon, make a small well in center of each pizza. Crack 1 egg into each well. Return pizzas to oven, rotating pans between top and bottom racks from previous bake.

Bake until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 5 to 7 minutes. I think it took me about 45 minutes more to get the darn eggs set!

Serve with basil oil.

The basil oil really adds good flavor.

I had some smoked olive oil I wanted to try out. Turns out I wasn’t that impressed with the flavor.

Instead of the basil oil, this Truff product would be an ideal choice, for those who like it hot and spicy!