One of my 2011 resolutions is to have monthly family pizza night to practice my pizza making skills. For many people, new year resolutions have fallen off the radar now that a quarter of the year has come and gone. I find it almost unbelievable that this new ritual is taking hold at my house. There were hiccups of course and I discovered in February the worst thing I can say to a guy is “Change of plan. We’re not having pizza tonight” (right up there with “We’re out of beer.”). Last weekend, Little Brother and I enjoyed a dinner of pan pizza topped with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, turkey sausage, pancetta, and crimini mushroom. What a fantastic use of my 10-inch cast iron skillet! The pizza reminded us of those thick crust Pizza Hut pan pizza we used to love when we were kids.
Confession time. I cheated this month and used premade pizza dough from Whole Foods. They are well made (even the guys at Serious Eats said so) and tastes good. But pan pizza is not what I want to write about today. Yesterday, I surveyed my fridge and the leftover pizza dough, sauce, and hand shredded cheese started mocking me. You see, I like to keep my fridge really neat and leftover ingredient is not part of that picture. Logical choice would be to make a second pizza but who wants to make the same thing back to back? Cue stromboli.
What’s with the fancy name? It is just pizza roll but calling it stromboli with some Italian-American fanfare is so much more fun. I filled the pinwheel with sautéed pancetta, shallots, crimini mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. Once the log bakes to golden perfection, you let it sit just long enough so it’s cool enough to handle. Slice on a bias to reveal the pretty filling and serve with marinara sauce for dipping. Does it not remind you a bit of sushi rolls when I plate it on a rectangular wooden tray with a small Japanese sauce dish?
Making stromboli is so easy even kids would have a blast helping out in the kitchen. First, oil your pizza dough with olive oil and cover. Let it rise at room temperature until double in size. My house is characteristically chilly so it took close to 2 hours. At normal temperature of around 78F, one hour ought to be enough. While your dough is fermenting, sauté your choice of filling. Now is your best chance to clear your fridge of those odds and ends! When the dough is ready, dust your work surface with plenty of flour and roll/stretch dough into a large rectangle. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with Silpat and spread the filling and cheese evenly over the dough, leaving 1/2 inch clean on the long end. Just be sure not to be too greedy with the filling. Roll it up into a tight log starting from the other long end and pinch the dough to seal. Roll it over so the sealed seam lies against the bottom of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap for the final rise of 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375F and make an egg wash with egg yolk and splashes of water. Just before you bake the log, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle some grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top. Bake for around 30 minutes or until the log is golden brown. Let it cool for about 5 minutes and slice on a bias (because it’s prettier this way).
My marinara sauce is pretty simple as well. You drain a can of whole peeled tomatoes (976mL) and puree with immersion blender. Sauté a large onion (diced), a few cloves of crushed garlic, a couple of anchovy fillets, and dried basil & parsley & crushed red pepper. Add a splash of white wine and cook off the alcohol. Add the tomato puree and simmer for about 20 minutes until thickened. Puree with immersion blender once more for a smoother consistency and adjust seasoning. It sure beats any canned pizza sauce you buy off the shelf!
Stromboli is great as a snack but even better as hors d’oeuvre. They can be enjoyed hot out of the oven for maximum gooey cheesiness or room temperature. What you fill it with is up to your imagination.