Authentic Italian Stromboli Recipe — Damn, Spicy! (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional stromboli? ›

A stromboli is an Italian-American dish that features a rectangle of pizza dough or yeasted bread dough that's topped with mozzarella (sometimes Parmesan or other cheeses) and add-ons such as cured meats and veggies, and sometimes tomato sauce too.

A stromboli is larger and longer than a calzone and is baked as one piece and then cut into slices for serving a crowd. Calzones also start with pizza dough, but instead of forming a large rectangle, a small or medium ball is rolled or stretched out into a round.

Scaccia comes from the word Focaccia and it is a very thin dough rolled and layered with fillings. Apart from that dough, it is all about the gooey filling, often seen spilling out of the bread. A stromboli is a cousin of this. Stromboli is about perfect layers while Scaccia Ragusana is beautiful in its imperfections.

ORIGINS. The story of the stromboli goes back to 1950s Philadelphia, where a restaurant owner by the name of Nazzareno Romano is known to have started selling a rolled up pizza dough filled with ham, cheese, and peppers.

Stromboli is a type of baked turnover filled with various Italian cheeses (typically mozzarella) and usually Italian cold cuts (typically meats such as salami, capocollo and bresaola) or vegetables, served hot.

Calzones are pizza folded over and crimped, with ricotta and fillings. And dipped in sauce. Stromboli are pizza rolled up more like a cinnamon roll and filled with non-ricotta fillings and occasionally sauce. Definitely Americanized Italian food.

Stromboli are more like pizza rolls. They're made from a thicker dough (still pizza dough), the tomato sauce and ricotta are optional and usually left out, and they are literally rolled up into a tube shape (sometimes more of a blocky sandwich shape though).

A calzone is healthier because it has less cheese. While a stromboli contains cheese and pepperoni, a calzone has leaner meat and whole-wheat dough. The whole-wheat dough is lower in calories and contains more fiber. You should also avoid processed meats.

strom·​bo·​li sträm-ˈbō-lē plural strombolis. : bread dough that is rolled or sometimes folded around a filling often composed of cheese, cold cuts, vegetables, and sauce and then baked. A close relative of pizza, stromboli is made, essentially, by rolling up an unbaked pizza like a log, tucking in the ends as you go.

What to Serve with Stromboli. Stromboli is a bit heavy with all that meat and cheese, so make sure to lighten up your plate with a simple side salad, or if you're feeling ambitious, go all out with an Antipasto Salad. You can even use some of the ingredients in the Antipasto inside of your stromboli!

What's a Panzerotto? ›

A panzerotto (Italian: [pantseˈrɔtto]; pl. : panzerotti, Italian: [pantseˈrɔtti]), also known as panzarotto ( Italian: [pantsaˈrɔtto]), is a savory turnover, that originated in Central and Southern Italian cuisine, which resembles a small calzone, both in shape and dough used for its preparation.

Calzones use ricotta cheese, and stromboli does not. Stromboli is made with mozzarella cheese (preferably low-moisture) to keep moisture at a minimum.

Mount Stromboli Facts

Also known as the “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”, Stromboli has been erupting almost continuously since 1932. Located off of the coast of southern Italy, its almost constant eruptions are bright and visible for long distances at night, hence its nickname.

Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It has been in nearly continuous eruption for about 2,000 years (some volcanologists suggest 5,000 years). Most of the present cone was well developed 15,000 years ago. This photo shows the volcano and town of Stromboli.

Stromboli is an obese Italian-Romani man and has black, balding hair. His beard is black as well. He has tan skin and his lower lip is pink, while his upper lip is red.

Calzones use ricotta cheese, and stromboli does not. Stromboli is made with mozzarella cheese (preferably low-moisture) to keep moisture at a minimum. This helps the interior dough cook fully. Calzones usually use a blend of cheese that almost always incorporates ricotta.

In 1944, Nazzareno Romano opened a little pizzeria in Essington and 6 years later he proclaimed himself the originator of that stuffed, baked sandwich... the Stromboli. It's a name that was borrowed from Hollywood. In 1950 Ingrid Bergman made the movie with Rossellini "On The Island of Stromboli."

Some meat suggestions are capicola, salami, soppressata, prosciutto, deli ham/turkey/roast beef, and/or pepperoni. Avoid using small pizza pepperoni slices. For best results (and flavor), use large pepperoni slices from the deli counter. You want about 1/2 pound of cheese per stromboli as well.