Yep, I am serious.  A fried egg.

I think it is fun to play around with food and see what combinations work.  For the record, avocado, peanut butter and tomatoes in a smoothie definitely do not work. Yikes.

Last week I shared a recipe for a spring garden inspired grilled pizza over on TasteArkansas, a site bursting with recipes that celebrate the farmer’s bounty (or the aspiring farmer inside of us). That pizza layered on grilled spring sweet onions, sweet peas, and pesto.  Man, it was delish and perfect as a pre-dinner appetizer.

Since I made that pizza using a pre-bought plain naan, I had one left over begging me to play around some more.  I had leftover crock-pot chicken from the night before, some pesto and mozzarella from the TasteArkansas shoot, and well, an egg.

Yep, an egg.

In March, I visited NYC and played around the hoods while Dennis was off working (I could get used to that).  On my schedule one day was a visit to ABC Carpet, located just a few blocks from the Flatiron and Union Square.  It had been years, maybe even a decade since I had last popped into ABC Carpet and it was time for another visit. Only this time, in addition to browsing the over-priced but gorgeously interesting kitchen stuffs, this time I had another purpose… the ABC Kitchen restaurant.  Review after review said it was a must-eat, home to the freshest ingredients and the quality touch of Michelin star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (and husband to writer and host of the Kimchee Chronicles).

It was, in a word, fabulous.

I ordered a side of grilled Brussel sprouts and a whole wheat pizza with a fried egg.  Because, well, seriously, New York just knows how to rock food and take it to the next level.

It was, in a word, fabulous.

So there is the back story.  This grilled chicken pesto pizza with a fried egg was inspired by ABC Kitchen.  I really do hope that you will try this because it extremely savory and tasty.  Be sure to pull the pizza off to the side of your grill without the heat or coals once you crack the egg since it will take a bit to set and you don’t want a charred bottom (check out my photo, whoops).

Let me know what you think once you make it.

I’m also curious to know what unique toppings you put on your pizza or if you have ever grilled a pizza?

Grilled chicken pesto pizza with a fried egg

Serves 2 for dinner or a group as an appetizer

Ingredients

1 naan bread or premade small pizza dough

½ tablespoons pesto

¼ cup of chopped pre-cooked chicken

2 tablespoons pizza or spaghetti sauce

1 large mozzarella ball cut into slices

1 farm fresh egg (because the richness of flavor will knock it out of the park!)

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of grated Romano cheese

Instructions

1.

Turn on gas grill to medium heat or prepare charcoal grill until medium temperature is met.

2.

In a bowl, mix the pesto and the chicken until chicken is fully coated.  Yum, this is gonna’ be goooood.

3.

On a cutting board, prepare the pizza.  Coat with sauce and layer with mozzarella cheese.  Spread out the pesto chicken, leaving the middle of the pizza prepped and ready for a fried egg.  That comes later.

4.

Place pizza on grill and cover.  Cook for ten minutes or until cheese has melted.  Turn off one side of the burners, or, if you are using coals, remove pizza from grill and move coals to one side of the grill.

5.

Move pizza off the heat, to the side where there is no flame. Carefully crack egg in the center of the pizza pie and season with salt and pepper. Check every five minutes until fried egg is to your desired runniness.  Dennis likes his runny and me, not so much.

6.

Lightly sprinkle entire pizza with Romano cheese.  Serve and enjoy and sit back and relax with your friends.

Eat well, my friends. Eat well.
Lyndi