Italian Imposter - Kinda Calzone, Pseudo Stromboli

Every cook knows one.

The person who politely eyes your homemade hummus, pokes suspiciously at roasted vegetables, and quietly asks if there’s any meat.

I was expecting company recently and knew I needed something hearty. Not fussy. Not trendy. Just something warm, cheesy and satisfying that could be pulled apart with your fingers while everyone gathered around the kitchen.

The answer came from a round of pizza dough. (Admittedly, I bought the raw dough for this one from Wegman’s, which is pretty good.)

The hardest part was waiting for it to cool long enough to slice.

The spiral of meats and melted cheese looked impressive, but it couldn’t have been easier. Served warm with a bowl of marinara for dipping, it disappeared almost as fast as I could slice it.

Sometimes the best recipes aren’t trying to impress anyone. They’re simply trying to make people happy.

Sorta Stromboli

INGREDIENTS

1 batch pizza dough

16 slices provolone cheese

8 slices mortadella

8 slices deli ham

20 to 24 slices pepperoni

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Maldon or coarse salt

Tomato sauce for dipping - optional

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix 2 tablespoons of the oil with the vinegar and one teaspoon seasoning.

Roll the pizza dough into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.

Brush the oil and vinegar mixture over the dough.

Arrange half of the provolone evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1-inch border along one long edge. Layer on the mortadella, ham and pepperoni. Finish with the remaining provolone.

Starting with the opposite long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the seam closed and tuck the ends underneath.

Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and some salt.

Make a couple of slits in the top for steam to escape.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and cooked through.

Allow the roll to rest for 10 minutes before slicing into thick rounds. Serve warm either plain or with tomato sauce for dipping.*

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the ones everyone asks you to make again, and at least for this guest, that’s already happened.

* Recently, I had a few things to use up in my kitchen (some fast-fading veggies) and it turned out to be one of the best tomato sauces I’ve ever had:

1 bulb of garlic, peeled

About a half cup of roasted red peppers

1 bell pepper

a pound of grape tomatoes

Leftover pepperoni from the recipe above - about 15 slices

1 sweet onion

1/4 cup olive oil

salt to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

A little dried beef bouillon

I put everything in a small Dutch oven on very low for about an hour and a half. When everything was “dissolving,” I hit it with an immersion blender. Fantastic.