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5 from 1 vote

Whole Wheat Kale and Olive Stromboli

Portable for picnics, this stromboli begins with a paprika spiced wheat dough. The filling is kale, arugula, and goat cheese. Makes 2 stromboli, about 7 slices each.
Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Servings: 14 servings

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon fine seal salt
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
  • Cornmeal as needed

Filling:

  • 1 bunch kale or a combo of kale, arugula, spinach, beet greens or chard
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced, or ¾ cup chopped garlic scapes
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup pitted cured black olives like Kalamata, chopped
  • 6 ounces goat cheese, or any good quality cheese for that matter
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 1 egg lightly beaten, optional
  • 5 ounces warm water, (105 to 115° F)

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk the yeast, flour, salt and paprika. Add the water, olive oil and honey, stirring with a wooden spoon. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft, smooth and elastic, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky to work.
  • Place in an oiled bowl at least twice the volume of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Wash the greens, trim and discard the stems. Chop the leaves so the biggest pieces are no more than 2-inch square. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Stir in chopped greens. If they don’t fit in the skillet, add them in stages--we all know how much they will shrink.
  • When the greens are tender, stir in the cilantro, red pepper and olives. Taste and season with salt if needed. (Cured olives usually add enough saltiness.) Remove from heat.

To assemble the stromboli:

  • Preheat oven to 375° F. If you have a pizza stone, place that on the oven rack. Divide the dough in half, forming rectangle-shaped portions 7 to 8 ounces each. Cover one portion to keep it from drying out.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion into a large rectangle, about 13 x 6 inches. Sprinkle, dollop or spread ¼ of the cheese down the middle. Top with about half of the filling. Top with another ¼ of the cheese. (You can brush the edges of the rectangle with beaten egg, if desired.) Gently stretch and fold the top half of the dough over the filling. Bring the bottom half up and over. Crimp the sides and the overlap to seal.
  • If you put a pizza stone in the oven, sprinkle a wooden peel or upside-down sheet pan with cornmeal. Invert the roll onto the peel. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, invert the roll onto a baking sheet.)
  • Brush with egg wash if using. Cut diagonal slashes, about 2 inches apart down the roll. Let sit about 5 minutes. Make another stromboli with the second rectangle.
  • Letting the cornmeal act as ball bearings, slide the stromboli from the wooden peel to the stone. Otherwise, place the baking sheet within the oven. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown.

Notes

Use less filling and spread it within 2 inches of the long side of the rectangle if you want the dough to spiral around the filling. You can even slice the unbaked roll and turn each slice on the side (like a cinnamon roll) for individual pieces of what chef Peter Reinhart calls “strombolini”.)