Veggie Stromboli

When John and I went back to our alma mater, Lafayette College, for his 5 year reunion a few weeks back, we joined a bunch of his fraternity brothers at a popular off-campus Italian joint named Pizza Doro. Not exactly known for specializing in healthful fare, I opted to order what I actually wanted to eat rather than what was sure to be a sub-par salad. The “Veggieboli” – vegetable stromboli – ended up surpassing all of the other meals I’d eaten at Pizza Doro during college. The crispy crust, melty cheese, well-seasoned and nicely cooked trio of veggies (onions, green pepper & broccoli), and marinara dipping sauce were so good that I couldn’t help but attempt to recreate it at home.

In an attempt to keep the flavors and texture as similar as possible to Pizza Doro’s scrumptious stromboli, I decided to use white-flour pizza dough and full-fat shredded mozzarella cheese – though in retrospect, I think subbing in whole wheat pizza dough and part-skim mozzarella would have yielded just as tasty an end result.

Veggie Stromboli with Homemade Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• heated store-bought or homemade marinara sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 batch store-bought or homemade pizza dough (white or whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 of a white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
• about 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, full-fat or part-skim
• extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 egg white

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Roll out room-temperature pizza dough into a rectangular shape, about 1/4 inch thick. Set aside and let rest.
3. Bring water to a boil in a small pot, add broccoli florets, and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove broccoli from boiling water, and roughly chop into bite-sized pieces.
4. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the blanched broccoli, chopped onion & pepper, and the salt and pepper to taste. Sautee until the onion and pepper are soft, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Leaving about a 1-inch border on all sides, spoon the sauteed vegetables onto the pizza dough. Layer the shredded mozzarella on top of the veggies.
6. Lightly whisk the egg white in a small bowl, and “paint” the pizza dough edges with the beaten egg white using a pastry brush.
7. Starting with a short end, tightly roll up the filled pizza dough jelly roll-style, pinching the ends closed.
8. Using the remaining egg white, brush the top of the stromboli with the pastry brush.
9. Transfer the stromboli to a cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
10. Let cool for a few minutes and cut into thick slices.
11. Serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 8 oz can no salt added tomato sauce
• 1 rounded Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 3 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot, and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for about 1 hour.
3. Sample the sauce throughout the simmering time and adjust seasonings to taste.