When not cooking fabulous four-course meals at our clients’ homes for interactive dinner parties, Jody and I are always looking to use up what is in our refrigerator, producing something that is homemade, delicious and can keep well or be frozen to take in the kid’s (or husband’s) lunch the next day. It is an economical way of eating, using up leftovers in a unique way.
We needed an idea for a ‘party’ sandwich to bring along to picnics, luncheons and brunches, and in the back of my mind I remembered this ‘rolled sandwich’ that was sold at a place I worked at in Calgary many years ago. The name came to me soon afterwards, and our experimenting began. Stromboli typically is a cross between a pizza and a calzone, filled with Italian meats and cheeses. Well, we had Black Forest ham, some Swiss gruyere cheese and a jar of roasted red peppers on hand, so that is what we worked with. Jody began to make the dough (because she’s the one with the stand-up mixer!) and I began to chop.
You begin a Stromboli with a basic pizza or white bread dough; roll it out into a large rectangle, layer on your choice of fillings and then roll it up like a pinwheel. Leftovers are great cold; served fresh from the oven with a salad, it’s close to a gourmet supper.
The following is our favourite Stromboli. Use your favourite pizza dough recipe, or check out our website for a recipe and other variations. We find that the store-bought dough doesn’t have the elasticity of a fresh dough.
Ham and Cheese Stromboli Serves 6-8
- Pizza dough (enough to make 1 extra large pizza)
- 2-3 tbsp whole grain mustard (we like Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Mustard, available at Vincenzo’s)
- 250g (1/2 lb) thinly sliced Black Forest ham
- 2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 small bunch of basil
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
Roll or stretch out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface so that it is a large rectangle, approximately 16 by 18 inches;
Using a spoon or spatula, spread mustard all over the dough;
Next, layer ham slices, covering the surface of the dough, but leaving about a one-inch border;
Sprinkle on cheese, basil and roasted red peppers;
Starting at the widest side, roll up carefully forming a pinwheel;
Transfer the Stromboli (you may need a third hand here) to a parchment paper lined baking sheet*;
Using a sharp knife, make small slits at the top of the Stromboli, about two inches apart;
Bake in 425°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until top is nicely golden brown. Don’t worry if some of the filling has leaked out (often this is the best part!);
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 1-2 inch slices, using a bread knife.
*At this point, feel free to wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze.
Chefs Kirstie Herbstreit and Jody O’Malley are both Red Seal certified chefs. Together they run the company YouCanCook2, specializing in interactive dinner parties. You can also find them cooking at Entertaining Elements in St. Jacobs, where they hold private dinners for eight people. To contact the chefs, visit their website www.youcancook2.com.
