raw milk gouda, egg and arugula pizza

a Chez Mary B original, inspired by Caprial and John's Kitchen

I often take the inspiration for my own recipes from obscure sources, but I think this one might take the cake. Basically, back in the 90s to early 2000s in Portland Caprial Pence was a prominent restaurateur and chef who also hosted a cooking show on Oregon Public Broadcasting with her husband. I specifically remember them cracking an egg in the middle of a pizza and I thought it was such an amazing idea. I must have seen this at least 15 years ago. After a deep dive on Google, I found that this recipe was seen on an episode about raw milk cheese and included raw milk gouda. Now, living in Minnesota, it’s pretty easy to find some fancy “raw” cheeses. This was a delicious, sharp pizza with a hint of creaminess from cream in the base. The raw yolk is sooo good with it, it tastes like a fancy breakfast dish. I recommend tryin it, even if you don’t use the raw gouda. Here’s what I did:

-Heat oven to 450° F
-Form about 9 oz of well risen pizza dough into a circle on a sheet pan. I used semolina on the bottom
-Brush the dough all over with a very thin layer of half and half or heavy cream
-Scatter on a thin layer of shredded mozzerella, followed by a thin layer of raw milk gouda
-Bake for about 6-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and just starting to bubble
-Separate egg yolk and white
-Toss a few handfuls of arugula with pepper, one small crushed garlic clove and plenty of red wine vinegar. You don’t need oil because there is plenty of fat in the pizza.
-After 7 minutes put the white only in the middle and make for another 6 minutes or so, until the white is set and the cheese has browned
-Make a small x shape in the middle of the white, and then put the yolk in the center
-Bake for another 1-2 minutes until the yolk is warmed through
-Scatter arugula around yolk, cut into slices and serve!