19.1.09

Pizza fiorentina for Alejandro


Alejandro being a friend who professes to like Lobstersquad very well, except he can´t cook most of the stuff because I seem to be all about the lengthy process or the purpose-specific electronic equipment.

Well, here´s a winner trick for which you need neither time, skill, ecquipment or complicated shopping. It´s neither cooking nor ordering out, but some mixture of both. Let´s call it takeout fusion.
(If you don´t want to read the whole post, it´s just some steamed spinach with a poached egg laid on pizza margherita. The instructions are for the use of non-habitual cooks)

First, stop by a supermarket (see? easy) and buy a 400 gr. bag of baby spinach leaves and some good eggs.

Second, order a pizza margherita. When I do this, J goes to La vita è bella on Plaza de San Ildefonso and brings it home himself, but any delivery guy will be an adequate accomplice. Try to make this a good pizza and not some godforsaken thick soggy monster, if you can.

While the pizza arrives, take a pan with a lid that looks like it can hold at least half the spinach. Heat it, add a tiny drizzle of oil. While this heats up, wash the spinach and take out any tough stems (Spanish spinach growers tending to take the broad, sweeping view of what is a baby spinach. There are a lot of preschoolers in the bags I buy).
Shake it dry, but not too dry, and put it in the pan. Cover. Wash the other half, if your pan isn´t big enough to hold it all.
By the time the second batch is washed, the first will have wilted so much that the second can go in.
Shake it a little, and in a couple of minutes you´ll have a limp green mess.
Now salt it, see if there´s too much liquid, try a piece. Too irony and green? Leave it some more time.

When you think the pizza is almost home, make a couple of holes in the spinach, and crack eggs into them.
Cover, and leave to set over a low fire.

When pizza arrives, take it out of the box and put it on a wooden board. This is essential to the success of the dish. Looks are everything.

Now take a wide slotted spoon and put the eggs with some of the greens on the pizza, and then dot the rest attractively on the bald spots.
Drizzle with the tiniest dots of good olive oil, and tuck in. The best is to smear the yolk all over the pizza, if there are more than two people. If not, each gets his egg and can do what they want with it.

So there you go. It´s easy, it´s healthy, it´s good, it looks good.
And if you can´t be bothered to order the pizza, you can of course have the spinach and egg on hot buttered toast and save yourself the delivery time.

13 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

clever - i like it!

kickpleat dijo...

man, you are too clever!! this sounds good...once we had runny eggs on a pizza in cologne and it was tasty. this sounds tastier.

ChichaJo dijo...

This sounds delicious! What a genius idea...thanks for sharing it! :)

Pille dijo...

"Spanish spinach growers tending to take the broad, sweeping view of what is a baby spinach. There are a lot of preschoolers in the bags I buy." :D :D :D You're hilarious, dear Ximena :)

Anónimo dijo...

What a great way to take a store-bought pizza and make it better! I'm going to borrow this idea.

Anónimo dijo...

Lovely!! I should try it this weekend, but sure will be a winner. Thanks for thinking about my cooking virtuosity on your post!! Besotes!

Siri dijo...

Hi there! I'm really excited about coming across your site for the first time today. I haven't found many Spanish food blogs and think your recipes and drawings are great! I'll be sure to keep checking in and seeing what you're cooking...

kickpleat dijo...

you are awesome. what a cool idea for making better delivery pizza. i had eggs on a pizza in cologne and would love to replicate it here. you are awesome.

Raquel dijo...

Tres colorines, un redondel, tu mensaje .... y ya tengo antojazo de pizza. Lo tuyo es mucho, en serio (y lo mío, grave).

Anónimo dijo...

Takeout fussion. Aha. Not that I don't have lots of purpose specific electronic equipment and amazing cooking skills... But I do think your friend Alejandro, and other people who don't, will be grateful to find this kind of recipe form time to time ;-)

Anónimo dijo...

Takeout fussion. Aha. Not that I don't have lots of purpose specific electronic equipment and amazing cooking skills... But I do think your friend Alejandro, and other people who don't, will be grateful to find this kind of recipe form time to time ;-)

Anónimo dijo...

I'm going to borrow this idea too, although without the pizza. My father can't eat cheese or other dairy products but my parents would love, love, LOVE the spinach and egg over toast.

Anónimo dijo...

adore your blog and the fabulous recipes, photog and writing! bravo!

started my own food blog last week and would love for you to pop over some time!

cheers,

*heather*
http://squirrelbread.wordpress.com

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