Garlic Crusted Sausage and Pepper Stromboli

Garlic Crusted Sausage and Pepper Stromboli

Hello there GORGEOUS! This dish is definitely one for the keep pile. It will feed the eyes, feed the stomach, and most importantly, feed the SOUL! Trust me, you won’t turn back.

I, as well as the family I cook for, love all things roasted.  This dish delivers and proudly presents roasted red, yellow and green bell peppers along with red onions and beautiful vine ripened tomatoes.  Add in a delicious ricotta and cream cheese, herb infused whipped base, chili pepper flakes and a compound garlic butter, and you have a winner.

I know, reading descriptive words like “compound” and “infused” can be daunting when searching for that scrumptious morsel you crave, and you’re probably thinking “COMPLICATED”.  This recipe couldn’t be further from the truth! Steps such as roasting the peppers, onions, and tomatoes, grilling the sausage and even the dough can be made in advance. That being said, this garlic crusted sausage and pepper Stromboli is a double threat. You can choose to make it an easy weeknight indulgence or a crowd pleasing Sunday supper!

Bonus! This recipe will make two garlic crusted sausage and pepper Stromboli’s.  You can serve them both up or just prior to baking place one in the freezer for a future meal.  See, I told you, double threat. Well, wait, does this make it a triple?  Either way, you will be happy you made them.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get cooking!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and get ready to roast! Cut your bell peppers into strips, onions into wedges and tomatoes in quarters, lengthwise.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO, then season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Give them a good toss about and put those babies in the oven. You will not need to line your baking sheet with foil, parchment, etc. as the EVOO will coat the bottom of the pan as your veg are roasting and will keep them from sticking.

Place hot Italian sausage links in a cast iron or grill pan of your choice, over medium-high heat and grill until browned and warmed through. This should take approximately ten minutes per side.  Once grilled set aside to rest for another ten minutes before slicing.

While your Italian sausage is grilling prepare the cream/ricotta cheese mixture.

In a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add your ricotta, cream cheese, Italian herbs, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Cream until well combined and fluffy. This should take about 3-4 minutes on medium speed. You can also achieve the same results with a hand-held mixer.

Next, pull out your favorite pizza dough and get to work.  You can use fresh dough from scratch or pre-made store-bought dough.  I find that basic pizza dough works best for this garlic crusted Stromboli and provides the perfect crunchy texture that one’s palate seeks.

Personally, I have a love/ hate relationship with pizza dough.  I LOVE how it tastes, stretches, smells and feels in my hands however I’m not too fond of how persnickety it can be sometimes! It will have a tendency to want to retract after your have achieved that perfect shape.  You will need to be persistent and tell it where to go until it listens.  Not a difficult task what-so-ever, just one that may need to be repeated.

• On a floured or paper lined surface start with your dough in ball form
• Flatten your dough with your fingertips working from the center out towards the edge, pushing out as much air as possible
• Once your dough is relatively flat and a good sized circle, gently pick it up
• Place the back of your hand on the underside, middle part, of the dough and gently pull the edges with your other hand working your way around the circle.  This will start to relax the dough and it will become more flexible.
• The dough will begin to thin in the middle and form a dam around the edges just like a traditional pizza crust.  Hold the dough between your thumb and first finger and begin to pinch and stretch the edges of the dough while working your way all the way round.  The weight of the dough below will help with this process.
• Once the dough begins to stretch to the size you want, you can start to shape it.
• Having a baking sheet lined with heavy duty baking foil will come in handy during this process as the foil will stick to the dough slightly so you are able to hold your shape.
• Place the dough on your baking sheet and begin to shape as shown in the photo below
• If you would like a more visual idea of how to do this you can check out this video by Cooking with Stephen. Remember, he is making pizza dough so when the final shaping begins you’ll want to shape into more of a rectangle than a circle.

This dough is approximately 15″ in width and 10 ” in height.  Once your dough is in place, add the ricotta and cream cheese whipped filling in a single layer as shown.

Spoon your sauce on top of the cheese mixture.

Top your sauce with your roasted veg and sausage mixture.

At this point, you’ll want to prepare your egg wash. An egg wash is basically one whole egg with approximately 1/2 tbs. water whisked together.

Fold the top portion of your dough onto the bottom portion so the ends line up with each other.  Pinch the dough together at the seams and apply your egg wash to the top of the entire Stromboli.  Starting about 2″ in from one end make a vent with a sharp knife.  Simply make one 2″ cut along the dough approximately 2″ apart from each other as shown below. Don’t worry if your vents open like mine did. It just means that you placed a whole lot of goodness into this Stromboli!

Doing this step allows for steam to release during the baking process.  If this step is missed you could have a soggy mess on your hands in 30 minutes or less.  Nobody wants that.

Give it a kiss and stick her in the oven to bake! In about 30-35 minutes, your garlic crusted sausage and pepper stromboli will be ready to devour!

Note: Set your timer to 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, you’ll want to liberally brush you compound butter on top of the entire Stromboli, including the sides.  Bake for another 10 – 15 minutes at this point or until your crust is set and golden brown.

If you wish to make this gluten free it is easy enough! Use a gluten-free pizza dough and everyone can enjoy this garlic crusted sausage and pepper Stromboli together!  The gluten free crust adds a bit more crunch and is very delicious!

I hope you love this as much as I do! Now, get to cooking, share, take photos and let me know how everything turns out! I’d love to hear your experience.

Happy cooking!