January 03, 2011

Christmas Eve Stromboli

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the foil generously with cooking spray.

Combine in your food processor's bowl:

1/2 cup pitted kalamata or black olives

8-10 sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil

1 Tbsp. oil from the sun-dried tomato jar

Pulse until the mixture forms a rough paste.

Lightly flour a flat working surface and a rolling pin. Roll 1 pound of pizza dough into a 14x10-inch rectangle. Spread the olive-tomato mixture onto the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.

Top with 12-15 slices of overlapping provolone cheese.

Top this with a 10-oz. box of frozen spinach that has been thawed and squeezed (to drain water) and a 12-oz. jar of roasted red peppers that have been drained, patted dry and cut into strips. Make sure the pepper strips run parallel to the longest side of the rectangle.

Fold 1 inch of dough over the filling on the short sides of the rectangle. Then fold the long sides over and pinch the dough together at the corners.

Roll the dough, starting at one of the long ends, as tightly as possible.

Brush the border lightly with a bit of beaten egg and pinch the seam to seal it shut.

Transfer the roll to your prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Brush the entire surface with beaten egg.

Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when it is tapped.