Random fridge treasures achieve craveworthy breakfast pizza

Credit: Terrence Antonio James

Credit: Terrence Antonio James

The Scrabble scoundrel feigns respect for the rules. He’s not the sort of lowlife who would stoop to sneaking peeks at the idle tiles or peering over the rim of a rack. He strikes a suave pose, shuffling his hand, as though an endless number of words might be wrought from seven random letters.

He lifts a tile and clicks it onto the board, drawing gasps. Not that he’s executed a bingo — arranging all of his letters into, say, “scrummy,” Brit for scrumptious. Not that he’s intimidated his opponent with “crwth,” a vowel-free actual word. He’s played a single letter, forming a two-letter word, twice — and earned a stunning 66 points.

Call it luck, or cunning, or tolerance for slang. You wonder: Is “za” a real word?

Scrabble-weary, you pull seven random ingredients from the fridge — potatoes, Sriracha, mayo, onion, sausage, cheese and eggs — and arrange them into pizza. Scrummy slice in hand, you consult the updated Scrabble dictionary — as well as your high-scoring breakfast za — and are forced to concede: Yes.

———

BREAKFAST PIZZA

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Makes: One 7-inch pizza, serves 2 to 4

1 large (about 8-ounce) russet potato, boiled or baked, and chilled

1 teaspoon melted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Sriracha

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Canola or peanut oil

1/2 cup diced onion

4 ounces bulk breakfast pork sausage

1/2 cup (total) shredded cheddar and Monterey jack

4 eggs

1. Toss: Using the largest holes of a box grater, shred potato. Toss shreds with melted butter and ¼ teaspoon salt.

2. Whisk: In a small bowl, whisk together Sriracha and mayo.

3. Brown: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in an 8-inch nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Slide in onion, crumble in sausage, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until sausage is browned and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Scoop sausage and onions into a bowl; cover loosely with foil to keep warm, leaving any fat in the pan.

4. Crisp: Pour 1 tablespoon oil into the skillet. Slide in potatoes, pressing gently to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook, shaking pan now and then, until crisp, about 3 minutes. Flip. Scatter on cheese, leaving a 1/2-inch bare perimeter. Cover skillet and cook until bottom is crisp and cheese has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Slide cheesy disk onto a cutting board. Spread with Sriracha mix. Cover loosely with foil.

5. Fry: Pour 1 tablespoon oil into skillet. Crack in eggs. Fry to your liking, about 3 minutes, covered, for whites that are set and yolks that aren’t.

6. Build: Invert fried eggs, crisp-side up, onto pizza. Scatter on sausage mix. Slice into 4 wedges, one yolk per slice. Dig in.

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