Pesto Stromboli with Marinaria Dipping Sauce

Because I love all things baked and stuffed, you know I'm going to be wild about stromboli and its smaller cousin the calzone. I read somewhere that practically every culture has a version of a savory pastry: the empanada of Spanish and Latin American cultures, the Kartoffelkloesse (potato dumpling) from Germany, the many different types of jiaozi and wontons of Chinese culture, the British pasty, the Slavic pierogies. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get my point. (Side note: when I told my girlfriend about the culturally universal idea of a savory pastry, she asked me what I thought the American version of this pastry was. The only answer I could come up with was Hot Pockets. Any other thoughts, dear readers?)

And it makes sense that this type of food is so universal: who doesn't love savory fillings (and often cheese!) wrapped in a doughy shell? It's filling, comforting and a perfect on-the-go food.

I recently scored some pre-made pizza dough on super-sale at my grocer, which was the inspiration for this recipe. But it's easy enough to make your own dough-- check out this recipe from a wonderful food blog, 101 Cookbooks. And I must make a shameful confession to you now, dear readers: I don't own a rolling pin. But I improvised (quite nicely, I must say) with a wine bottle and got my dough to a satisfactory thinness.


I chose to make both the pesto and marinara sauce for dipping, but if you're in a hurry, you can always use store-bought versions. Above all, this recipe just begs for experimentation. Feel free to substitute different veggies and cheeses in the stuffing. Even the pesto is open to interpretation-- traditionally it's made with pine nuts, but if pignolias aren't your bag (baby), feel free to use walnuts or almonds or any other mild nut. Like a garlicky pesto? Throw in another clove (or two!). People often add Parmesan cheese to their pesto, but I chose to omit it. With all the cheese and olive oil in this recipe already, I really didn't want to make it that much more rich and heavy. This recipe only calls for a thin layer of pesto on the dough, so you will probably end up with extra. I like to freeze my extra pesto in an ice cube tray, that way I have little frozen cubes of green-y goodness on hand at all times that I can use to liven up recipes!

For a vegan stromboli, simply omit the mozzarella.


Bain taitneamh as do bhéil!


PREP TIME: about 25 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20-25 minutes
SERVES: 8-10



INGREDIENTS:
For the stromboli and filling:
1 pound whole wheat or multigrain pizza dough (if bought frozen, allow to completely unthaw)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin ribbons
14 oz white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thickly
1 large handful baby spinach, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 large ball fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into rounds
olive oil, for cooking
flour, for rolling out dough

For the pesto:
2 cups tightly packed basil leaves, washed and stems removed
1/2 cup raw pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup olive oil

Marinara dipping sauce:
See recipe here.


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the marinara dipping sauce and allow to simmer while you assemble the stromboli. (Recipe here)

Prepare the pesto: place basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse to combine. Slowly drizzle the olive oil through the top of the food processor. Scrape down the sides of the food processor and pulse until you have a fine paste, adding olive oil as needed to thin. Set aside.

In a mid-sized frying pan, heat up a little olive oil. Saute mushroom slices until they are crispy and slightly browned around the edges. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough until it's approximately 15" by 12". Spread a thin layer of pesto over the flattened dough, avoiding all the outer edges of the dough. On top of the pesto, evenly spread the pepper slices, sauteed mushrooms, spinach leaves and mozzarella slices.

Carefully fold the dough up in three sections, the way you would fold a piece of paper to put into an envelope. Seal the fold and the edges with a little olive oil.

Place the stromboli sealed edges down on an oiled cookie sheet and brush the top with a little olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.


Serve slices of the stromboli with bowls of marinara sauce for dipping, a big leafy salad and a glass of red wine.