Oven: 375 degrees F/ 425 degrees F

Yield: one 12” loaf (approximately 16 ( ¾”) slices

Meatball & Mozzarella Stromboli

Ingredients:

8 large (2-inch) meatballs (a little less than ½ portion of meatball recipe), cooked and small chopped

1 (16 ounce) pizza dough (homemade or purchased)

¾ cup marinara sauce, homemade or jarred*

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with a silicon mat or aluminum foil** to be used for the stromboli. Spray a second cookie sheet with vegetable oil to be used for the meatballs.

Using a little less than ½ of meatball recipe, make 8 large meatballs (2-inch) and place on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 20- 25 minutes until cooked, but not crispy. If pieces are too crispy, they tend to break through the delicate pizza dough when rolled. Cool and chop or crumble with fingers.

Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Shape the pizza dough into a 12-inch x 12-inch rectangle making sure there are no holes. Spread the marinara sauce on the pizza dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the entire piece. Sprinkle the dough with the shredded mozzarella, the meatball pieces and the grated Parmigiano.

Starting at the end facing you, gently roll the dough, folding in each end after each complete roll of the dough. Seal the seam of the loaf using a little water on your fingers and turn over, seam side down, on to the center of the foiled/silicon mat cookie sheet.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 425 degrees F. After 20 minutes, reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake for approximately another 8 -10 minutes, until loaf is nicely browned and ‘hollow sounding’ like baking a loaf of bread.

Allow to cool before making ¾-inch slices with a serrated knife.

Notes:

• *The marinara sauce from the red bell pepper recipe is delicious if used for the stromboli.
• **The cookie sheet: If making a pizza, corn meal on the sheet pan is usually the choice, but in making a stromboli, I line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil or use a silicon liner because there is often some seepage from the loaf… depending upon how tightly it is rolled and if there are any tiny holes. This is not a big deal, but it helps with the clean up; at these high temperatures, the ingredients make a mess on the pan if they escape.
• Stromboli freezes well. Once it has cooled, double wrap in aluminum foil.