Stromboli with Capicola, Soppressata, Proscuitto & Salami

Ingredients:

raw, ready to use pizza dough
12 oz (canned or jarred but not marinated) artichoke hearts, sliced thinly
2 oz olive spread*
2 oz grated Parmesan
1/4 lb shredded mozzarella
1/4 lb lean capicola
1/4 lb soppressata
1/4 lb Genoa salami
1/4 lb prosciutto
1/4 lb provolone


1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
ice cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and water. Set aside. Divide the dough in two equal halves. On a clean, floured surface roll one out to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Place the long side in front of you. Spread a thin layer of olive spread, leaving a 1/2 inch margin. Top with a single layer of artichoke. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Top with a layer of capicola, then soppressata, Genoa salami, and prosciutto and finally provolone taking care not to infringe on that 1/2 inch margin. Roll in to a tight spiral, rolling away from you. Pinch edges close. Brush with the egg wash. Slash the top. Bake, seam side down, on a parchment paper lined pizza stone or baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ingredients*. Toss some ice cubes into the bottom of the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes then cool on a wire rack until just barely warm, about 10-15 minutes. Slice.

Note: Store leftovers wrapped in waxed paper and then again in foil. Serve leftovers warmed or at room temperature.

*A mixture of various green minced olives and olive oil. Look for it at Italian groceries.

**Depending on the thickness of the slices, you might end up with some meats and cheese leftover.

My thoughts:

Stomboli is an Italian-American creation with hotly debated origins. My favorite origin story is on the Ramono's website so I am going with them. They are pretty hardcore as to what constitutes a stromboli (it is NOT "flopped over" pizza!) but they do call for American cheese which I cannot condone under any circumstances. For my version I used my favorite pizza dough recipe (you could use an Italian bread dough but elastic pizza dough is easier to roll) and some lovely Italian meats from our local Italian deli. Granted, the meats and cheese were slightly pricey but the flavor was amazing and two strombolis were more than enough for 2 meals for 2 people. I haven't really had much in the way of stromboli actually, they are not a popular Baltimore menu item but the idea of a stuffed, rolled sandwich with all of my favorite meats sounded wonderful. I enjoyed it both warm from the oven and then at room temperature the next day. It was a great alternative to a regular sandwich, which truth be told I am not terribly fond of, but really not much work at all.