Vegan Stromboli

Originally I wanted this to be something like the venerable hors d’oeuvre known as “pigs in a blanket,” but like the Incredible Hulk, it changed into something bigger and better.

While baking bread can be intimidating, this recipe is fairly easy to follow. I used a recipe for pita bread from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. I highly recommend the show of the same name, which airs on public television. You can never go wrong with a master like Julia Child; she makes the most lavish dishes seem easy to prepare.

You’ll have to start the dough a night in advance.

The pita bread recipe yields enough dough for this and for my upcoming recipe for mushroom pizza. If you don’t want to remain in the kitchen after making the stromboli, you can put the remainder of the dough in a sealed container in the fridge—but for no more than a day or two. There are active yeast cultures in bread dough, so whenever possible use fresh dough over dough that’s been in the freezer or the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

1 package of Tofurky Italian Sausage, sliced
4 gren onions, finely diced
1 package of Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds
Pita bread dough (from Baking with Julia, above)

Makes 8 – 9 stromboli.

Note: I don’t know the exact volume of the bread dough, but the recipe calls for about 6.5 cups of flour (whole-wheat and all-purpose) and 2.5 cups of water.

DIRECTIONS

1. Start heating a nonstick frying pan of at least 8 inches in diameter.
2. Using your hands, scoop out a ball of dough onto a floured cutting board. Flatten it to a circle of 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
   
   
3. Place on the dough a few pieces of Tofurky sausage along with some green onions and Daiya cheese. If you want your stromboli to be very gooey, add more cheese than in this shot.
   
   
4. Flip one side over the other, folding the dough in half. Make sure that the ingredients are completely encased in the dough. Pinch the edges to seal it.
   
   
   
5. By this time, the frying pan should be very hot. Lightly place the stromboli in the frying pan. You don’t need to add oil since the bread dough already contains enough. Let the stromboli cook for a couple of minutes, turning it over once or twice (depending upon the heat of the pan) to cook evenly. Remove from pan when both sides are well cooked. 
   
   

Vegan Cuban Sandwiches

Making this guilty pleasure isn’t as tough as you would think: the ingredients don’t need to be cooked, and prep time is pretty low. You will be surprised at how good this turns out.

Notes:

• 
  Vegan smoked ham: I get this from an incredible vegan/vegetarian Chinese market called May Wah Healthy Vegetarian. May Wah ships to all locations within the US. While their brand is delicious and has a wonderful texture, there are alternatives available outside of May Wah’s shipping range.
• Vegan sausages: I prefer Field Roast sausages, but they’re still not as widely available as Tofurky sausages. Tofurky sausages are easier to prepare as they have no casing, and they’re cheaper than Field Roast. With either brand, I’d recommend the Italian sausage.
• Vegan cheese: Many vegan cheeses taste awful or don’t melt well. In contrast, Daiya cheese tastes and melts like real cheese. Unfortunately it doesn’t yet have wide retail distribution (although I have seen new retail packaging, so let's hope for the best), but you can find it online or at Whole Foods.
• Vegan butter: As with cheese, there are a lot of vegan alternatives to conventional butter; however, most of them don’t taste, melt, or cook like the real stuff. I’ve found that Earth Balance is indistinguishable from conventional butter. I use the whipped organic soy butter every time butter is called for.

Ingredients:

5-6 slices of vegan smoked ham
1 link of vegan sausage
vegan cheese
2 loaves of pocket-less pita bread
about how many pickles, sliced lengthwise
olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Orange peel, to taste
Mustard, to taste
Earth Balance whipped organic soy butter

n.b. the amount of vegan cheese, pickles, & soy butter will depend largely upon the size of the bread as well as your personal tastes. The amount of olive oil will depend upon the thickness of the slices of ham

Serves two.

1. Dry the vegan ham slices between paper towels. The brand from May Wah is pretty moist.
   
   
2. Create the mojo sauce: mince the garlic cloves and place them in a flat-bottomed dish along with oil, cayenne pepper, paprika, and orange peel to taste. You don’t want the mojo to be too spicy. There’s a lot of different flavors and textures in a Cuban sandwich, and too much heat from peppers would take away from its unique charm. Mix well and place the ham slices in the dish,rotating them to evenly distribute the mojo.
   
   
3. Slice a sausage link down the middle and then make long, thin slices.
   
   
4. Put a non-stick frying pan (with the lid) on the stovetop on high. Lightly butter one side of the pita bread. Place the ham slices on the non-buttered side and cover those with the sausage slices.
   
   
5. Place the pickle slices on top of the sausages and top those with the vegan cheese. Add mustard to taste. Place the other loaf of pita bread on top and lightly butter it.
   
   
6. Place the sandwich in the frying pan. Drip any leftover mojo into the pan. Cover with the lid. After a couple minutes, flip the sandwich with a spatula. Cover again with the lid and let the sandwich fry for another couple of minutes.
   
7. Slice and serve. This bad boy serves two. You could be greedy and eat it all by yourself, but I recommend sharing with a friend or saving the other half for another meal.