Pizza is my perfect food. If there was only one food I could eat for the rest of my life, it would be pizza. Almost anything can be put on it. I consider stromboli a type of pizza, of the portable kind, so they fit right in on Friday Pizza Nights.
Created in Philadelphia by an Italian-American restaurant owner in the 1950s, stromboli are a staple of Italian cuisine in America. The name came from the 1950 romance film Stromboli, (starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, directed by Roberto Rossellini) which was notorious (at the time) for the off-screen affair between Bergman and Rossellini.
Stromboli starts off like a pizza: a flattened piece of dough and a layer of sauce, then cheese. Next comes whatever meat and/or vegetables are desired. In comparison to a pizza, stromboli has a few additional steps before baking. It is rolled into a spiral and the edges of the dough are sealed to keep the filling on the inside.
Broccoli & Cheese Stromboli
Broccoli Cheese Stromboli (adapted from a recipe by Ree Drummond via foodnetwork.com) Total Time Required: 1 hour, 5 minutes; Active Time: 40 minutes; Bake Time: 20 minutes; Yields: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
-
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-pound loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
- 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 slices provolone cheese, shredded or chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- marinara sauce, warmed for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400º F. Oil a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and set it aside.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Saute the onions & garlic.
Add the broccoli and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until the broccoli has softened slightly and become bright green, about 1 minute. Remove the veggies from the heat and set them aside.
Add the broccoli to the onions & garlic.
Lightly flour a clean work surface and stretch or roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 11-by-13 inches. Spread the pesto on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
Spread the pesto over the dough.
Top the pesto with the broccoli mixture.
Layer the broccoli next.
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the broccoli mixture.
Then the cheddar cheese.
Layer the provolone over the cheddar. Sprinkle the basil over the top.
Finally, layer the provolone & basil.
Fold the short sides in, then roll the dough into a log, starting on a long side. Pinch the edges together to seal the filling in the dough. Place the stromboli, seam-side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make 5 to 6 diagonal slits on top of the dough. Brush the top with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle it with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Roll it up & brush it with olive oil, then sprinkle the Parmesan over the stromboli.
Bake the stromboli until it is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow the stromboli to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Rest the stromboli for 5 minutes to allow the cheeses to cool slightly.
Serve the warmed marinara alongside the stromboli.
Serve with marinara sauce, if desired.
I love pizza in all its forms! ~Linda
Broccoli Cheese Stromboli (adapted from a recipe by Ree Drummond via foodnetwork.com) Total Time Required: 1 hour, 5 minutes; Active Time: 40 minutes; Bake Time: 20 minutes; Yields: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
-
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 large yellow onion, sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-pound loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
- 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 slices provolone cheese, shredded or chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- marinara sauce, warmed for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400º F. Oil a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and set it aside.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until the broccoli has softened slightly and become bright green, about 1 minute. Remove the veggies from the heat and set them aside.
Lightly flour a clean work surface and stretch or roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 11-by-13 inches. Spread the pesto on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Top the pesto with the broccoli mixture, then sprinkle the cheddar cheese over it. Layer the provolone over the cheddar. Sprinkle the basil over the top.
Fold the short sides in, then roll the dough into a log, starting on a long side. Pinch the edges together to seal the filling in the dough. Place the stromboli seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make 5 to 6 diagonal slits on top of the dough. Brush the top with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle it with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake the stromboli until it is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow the stromboli to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve the warmed marinara alongside the stromboli.