Mozzarella, Red Pepper & Artichoke Stromboli with Spicy Pepper Dip
From Ainsley’s World Cup Flavours, ITV
This is a delicious vegetarian Stromboli (a rolled up pizza bread) packed full of flavour from chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables and oozing mozzarella. It’s great for sharing and I’m serving with an easy no-cook dipping sauce. For a meat version try adding some slices of prosciutto or salami.
Method
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt and cook for 60 seconds until wilted. Transfer to a sieve and allow to cool before squeezing out any excess moisture.
To make the dough, put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and 200ml of warm water. Mix with a large wooden spoon until the dough comes together, adding a little more water if needed to form a soft but firm dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for 8-10 minutes until smooth. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave it for about an hour in a warm place or until it has doubled in size.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Add the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle measuring about 45cm x 34cm. Use the back of a spoon to smear a very little amount of the red pepper sauce over the dough, leaving a border of about 2cm all around the edge.
Scatter over the grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Top with spinach, strips of pepper and slices of artichoke. Scatter over the olives, basil and season with pepper. Starting from the shorter edges, roll up the dough, tucking under the sides to seal and firmly enclose the filling. Place the roll, seal-side down, on a lightly oiled or lined baking sheet and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Brush the Stromboli with oil and season with flaked sea salt. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with the sauce for dipping (you can warm the sauce if preferred).
Ingredients
- For the Stromboli
- 450g strong white bread flour
- 7g fast action dried yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 80g baby spinach leaves
- 200g pizza mozzarella, grated (or ready grated mozzarella)
- 20g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 150g of chargrilled artichokes from a jar, drained and chopped
- 150g roasted red peppers from a jar, patted dry and chopped
- 2 tbsp sliced black olives
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn
- flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Spicy Pepper Dip
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 200g roasted red peppers from a jar, drained
- 200g passata
- 1 tsp of Turkish red pepper paste or red pepper flakes (or ½ tsp chilli flakes)
- ½ tsp sugar