Butter Bean, Pesto and Kale Stromboli Pizza

Slice into bitesize pieces to make it party friendly!

This is the first time I’ve ever made Stromboli! I eat a lot of pizza (home made and ordered in) and I’ve had the occasional calzone but I have never thought to roll the pizza up like this. I decided to give it a go though because I really love the look of it and I think it would be perfect served in a wreath shape or sliced up (as above) at a party as part of a buffet!

I got the idea to serve it as a ring this way when stumbling across The Kitchenist blog after researching stromboli, I loved the way the dough was sliced through around the edges so that the filling spills out showing the guests what delicious ingredients are stuffed inside! You could fill yours with anything but I have chosen to use a butter bean puree base, roasted aubergine pesto and kale, because it is pretty and super healthy!

I’m on a bit of a kale binge again at the moment. I go through phases but mainly I am obsessed with kale! I have it stirred into scrambled eggs or an omelette for breakfast, slow cooked in soups and stews, baked until crisp, added to smoothies or piled up on pizzas! When on a pizza the kale goes quite crispy but when rolled up like in this stromboli the kale is more protected from the heat and remains quite soft yet still with a bit of bite giving the pizza a nice texture contrast.

The pizza before being rolled up!

To make one large stromboli (feeds 2-4 as part of a main meal)

Pizza Dough:
210g Strong White Bread Flour
1 1/2 tspn Dried Yeast
1 tblspn Olive Oil
Pinch Salt
110ml Luke Warm Water

Toppings:
1 Can Butter beans
Small Bunch Flat leaf Parsley
1 Large Garlic clove
Splash of water
2-3 tbspns Aubergine Pesto (or a pesto of your choice)
Large bunch Kale
Seasoning
Olive Oil
2 tbspn Nutritional Yeast

To make the bread dough sift the bread flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the flour and into that add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the luke warm water. Mix it with a wooden spoon combining all the flour untill it has come together as a dough (add a little more water if needed). Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes then shape it into a ball, coat it very lightly in oil to keep it moist and place in a bowl covered in cling film for an hour or so to let it rise.

To make the butter bean puree place the butter beans in a blender with the parsley, water, garlic and seasoning and blitz until smooth. Start off with a small amount of water because you don’t want it too runny!

Rinse the kale and then heat a small amount of oil in a pan and lightly stir fry the kale until softened and wilted. Add a bit of salt to season it.

Once risen roll the dough out into a large thin rectangle and spread over the butter bean puree and then the aubergine pesto. Top with the kale so it is spread out evenly and then roll the dough up from left to right to create a long log.

Then shuffle the dough around into a ring and seal at the ends to make a complete circle. Slice in to the edges making sure you don’t cut the whole way through and fan it out so that the filling can be seen.

Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast and place on a baking tray. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the dough is firm and golden.

I have shared this over at the Virtual Vegan “Linky” Potluck, click here to see all the other delicious vegan treats!