Stromboli

A lot of people have not heard of stromboli. In fact, I had never heard about it until maybe five years ago when I was watching some Food Network show. At it's most basic, it is a rolled up pizza. I happen to love this recipe because it uses pesto instead of pizza sauce. And this time, instead of regular pesto, I used kale pesto! (I'm really proud of that one.) It's a little time consuming to make but well worth it. It's the one meal the WHOLE family devours, babies, toddlers, and picky preschoolers included. I've adapted it a lot from a recipe in a Cooking Light cookbook. In fact, it's probably it's own recipe now. I double the recipe and make two for our hungry little family.

1 c warm water
2 1/2 t yeast
3 c flour (if you're feeling especially healthy, you can substitute wheat flour for some of it. The most I've done is half and half)
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
1/3 - 1/2 c pesto (or kale pesto)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 roasted red bell pepper (I fire roast mine on a cast iron skillet with some oil)
1/2 lb cooked Italian sausage
1/4 package pepperoni
1 egg, beaten

(Really you can put any toppings you like in there. Mushrooms and other peppers would be good, as are olives.)

Combine warm water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand for five minutes. Add 3 cups of flour, sugar, and yeast and mix together to make a dough. I use the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding enough flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands, although the dough should feel a little sticky. Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place one hour, or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll dough out into a large rectangle and spread pesto on top, leaving about a one inch border around it.


Then cover pesto with cheese and other toppings. Roll everything up, like you would a cinnamon roll, pinching the seams together on the bottom and sides. You should have a nice long roll. Cut 3 or 4 slits in the top, using a sharp knife. Cover and let rise for thirty more minutes. Brush top of roll with a beaten egg.


Bake at 350 for forty minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.


Remember, I doubled this recipe to make two rolls. And I'm sure you could make this with normal pizza sauce, but I think the pesto makes it just a little more special. Enjoy!

*Happy Birthday to my little Charlie! Congratulations on surviving your first year with Craig and I as your parents!