Kate Johnson’s homemade Stromboli
I recently tried my hand at a homemade Stromboli. This idea came to me after watching the episode of “The Great British Bakeoff” that featured stuffed breads. What I discovered is that it is a very quick, easy and flexible meal that is really delicious to eat! Likewise, it produces great leftovers and is a perfect picnic/camping food item.
For a really quick and easy version, you can use store bought pizza dough. Personally, I pulled a one pound ball of my artisan bread out of the refrigerator. Either way — let the dough come to room temperature and then roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is approximately 14-by 10-inches.
Now the fun begins!
I spread some pesto over the surface (leaving approximately ½-inch border all the way around). If you prefer you could use a pizza sauce, garlic aioli, mustard, horseradish cream, wasabi sauce, salsa, etc. For my filling I stuck with vegetables and cheese. But any type of deli meat, browned sausage, rotisserie chicken, asada meat, shrimp, etc. would be a delicious addition. I chopped up colorful peppers, kale, and even some spicy pickled banana peppers and I used grated fontina cheese — but any cheese that melts well would be great (or you can leave the cheese behind).
After you have your pile of filling, you simply roll it up (from the long side) and pinch the seam and ends together to seal it well.
If you would like some of the contents to “spill out” you can either make cuts in the top or you can use a solid bottom and sides and cover the top with a braided top. At this point you can use a large spatula to carefully relocate it to your prepared baking tray (cooking spray does the trick), brush with a little oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Now position your cooking rack in the lower third of a 425 degree oven and bake until the crust is nicely browned — approximately 15-20 minutes. I did brush mine with a little melted butter after it came out and then allowed it to set for 10 minutes before I sliced. Likewise, you could put this into a Dutch oven at your campsite and cook with coals under and over for a camp site Stromboli extraordinaire or you could cook it directly on your barbecue by placing it over the grate on a baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes and then sliding it directly onto the grate once it has cooked enough to not break apart.
With summer quickly coming upon us I am happy to have found another quick, easy and delicious meal that is flexible enough to incorporate my constantly changing garden fare. I hope that you will enjoy creating your own version of this delicious and easy meal!
Kate Johnson is a long-time resident of Carson City. She is an avid gardener, musician, cook and lover of dogs.
