Peace in a Divided Kitchen

Making Peace with Stromboli

Served as a main dish or as an appetizer, stromboli is fun to make, impressive to serve, and easy to adapt to please a wide variety of palates and preferences.

If you’re afraid of working with dough, this is your chance to learn just how much fun it can be. This recipe is really forgiving and I promise to step you through the process, so I hope you’ll give it a try. If you’re really in a hurry, you can use prepared pizza dough, add your own toppings, and follow the instructions for rolling and cooking your stromboli — but you’ll be missing much of the fun.

For the carnivores in your life, we have a ham and mozzarella recipe (add pepperoni or sausage if you need even more meat). We’ll also make a vegetarian-friendly pesto, artichoke heart and pine nut combination, filled and topped with parmesan cheese. If you leave out the cheese, this second recipe is vegan-friendly. Both are fantastic, so make sure your vegetarians get their fill before the carnivores discover just how delicious the veggie version is.

Once you get the hang of making stromboli, try experimenting with different toppings. Whether you serve stromboli as a main dish with a side salad or as an appetizer, it’s filling and fun to make.

As you bring your stromboli to the table, share a few facts about the dish’s controversial origin. It’s generally agreed that stromboli originated in the 1950s, but two restaurants take credit for creating the dish. Some say stromboli gets its name from a Rosselini film of the same title. Others say it refers to the volcanic island of Stromboli, off the coast of Italy.

It’s easy to see where a cheese-filled stromboli could conjure up images of molten lava, as it takes on a liquid form when baked. Regardless of its origin, if you hear stromboli referred to as ‘rolled up pizza,’ act insulted — that hardly does it justice.