Pizza rolls
pizza rolls | Me & The Moose. pizza dough, pesto, and turkey pepperoni make these pizza rolls (just swap the walnuts in the kale pesto for sunflower or pumpkin seeds or leave them out entirely) a more lunchbox-friendly pizza option. #meandthemoose #pizzarolls #lunchboxideas #lunchboxrecipes #lunch #pizza #pesto #pepperoni
Today is Pi day and Friday is St. Patrick's Day and the closest we're getting to a themed meal here at M&TM headquarters is kale pesto pizza rollups which are just barely a pizza "pie" and just barely green. Needs must.
We love pizza around these parts, but pizza doesn't always love us. A toddler with pizza grease and tomato sauce all over him is just a prelude to an APARTMENT with pizza grease and tomato sauce all over it. These rolls help a lot! Using homemade pesto means you can control the amount of grease. Encasing everything in dough also keeps the toppings from topping your home. These rolls also keep well in the fridge or freezer as long as they're re-crisped well in the toaster or the oven before being eaten.
pizza rolls | Me & The Moose. pizza dough, pesto, and turkey pepperoni make these pizza rolls (just swap the walnuts in the kale pesto for sunflower or pumpkin seeds or leave them out entirely) a more lunchbox-friendly pizza option. #meandthemoose #pizzarolls #lunchboxideas #lunchboxrecipes #lunch #pizza #pesto #pepperoni
To get this cleaner, healthier version of pizza, you have to do a tiny bit more work than just slapping some sauce and cheese on a rolled out dough and popping it into the oven, though not much more. First, you have to roll the dough into a rectangle, which can take a bit of doing. Make sure your sauce layer is thin since overfilling the middles can cause the rolls to fall apart. You also want to be stingy with the cheese and salami (if using) for the same reason. But the rolling up means that you'll still get tons of cheese and toppings in each bite.
I took Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction's advice about refrigerating the dough and fillings for 30 minutes after rolling them into a log, but before cutting and cooking them, but I'm not completely sure it was necessary as I've made these without that extra step and found the rolls similarly loose. A few pieces of advice: Try to make this roll as tight as possible. Use your sharpest knife to cut the rolls and don't make them more than 1-inch wide. Also, feel free to tighten and crimp the outside layer of the dough as you transfer the cut pieces to the baking sheet.
pizza rolls | Me & The Moose. pizza dough, pesto, and turkey pepperoni make these pizza rolls (just swap the walnuts in the kale pesto for sunflower or pumpkin seeds or leave them out entirely) a more lunchbox-friendly pizza option. #meandthemoose #pizzarolls #lunchboxideas #lunchboxrecipes #lunch #pizza #pesto #pepperoni
Pizza rolls
Time: About 30 minutes, mostly active
Yield: about 15 rolls
1 store-bought or homemade whole wheat pizza dough
½ cup kale pesto (scant)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
4-5 oz Turkey salami or pepperoni
1/8 cup corn meal
Tomato sauce for dipping
Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Roll or press out the pizza dough on a separate piece of lightly floured parchment paper until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Spread a very thin layer of the kale pesto over top and make sure to get all the way to the edges of the dough. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Add salami or pepperoni if using.
Along the longer side, start rolling the dough as tightly as you can. Continue rolling until the dough and fillings form a log. Transfer the log and parchment paper to a baking pan and chill for 30 minutes (or not, see above note).
After chilling, cut 1-inch pieces from the roll and dip one cut side into the corn meal to prevent sticking. Place the cornmeal crusted side on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the pieces are cut, sprinkle lightly with parmesan and bake for 15-18 minutes until the outsides are golden brown.
Honey, lemon, and ginger spelt muffins
These muffins are soothing and comforting for sick days and also bright and tangy and full of nutrition for all of the other days. And since they only use one bowl and are ready in about 30 minutes start to finish, they’re an easy make-ahead breakfast or snack that are delicious with a dollop of lemon curd and butter.
I had a really cliched parenting day yesterday. I spent 30+ minutes tearing around our apartment frantically trying to find M's lovey that was NOWHERE. I finally found her (him?) in my camera case. I forgot that M can do zippers, so I threw the bag back into the closet while straightening up not realizing that he had put lovey in there while I photographed these muffins. Guys. I even picked through the garbage. THE GARBAGE. And then had an entire conversation with Ethan about how we can lojack the thing.
Before someone suggests that we get multiple lovies for this exact scenario, be assured, we're way ahead of you. But our smart cookie knows that the replacement lovey is an imposter and is not soothed.
The (thankfully temporary) loss of lovey was especially harrowing because today is M's first sick day in months. I don't mean to brag, but he hardly ever gets sick. I can say that out loud now because I'm not worried about jinxing myself anymore. Of course he got sick the week that all of our classes were cancelled thanks to a mid-winter school break AND it was 65-degrees, so we spent the entire time outside. Go figure.
When I get sick, Ethan makes me his mom's home remedy of chopped fresh ginger and lemons boiled to death in a few cups of water and then combined with honey. I don't know why it's so soothing, but it makes my throat feel better, eases my coughs, and generally feels warm and cozy. M isn't so into this strong tea, but I put the flavors into a muffin that's also tasty and soothing.
Have I talked about spelt flour here before? I really like it as a replacement for white flour in breads and baked goods because it has a very similar taste and texture. However, it has a lot more protein and fiber than the plain old AP variety. You can really replace white flour with spelt flour in most baking recipes with little or no modification. (Disclaimer: I haven't tried EVERY recipe with spelt flour, but everything I've tried has worked well. I would not replace cake flour with spelt flour as I think it would change the texture of the finished product.)
One more note: These muffins really benefit from fresh ginger. I have this ginger grater and it's a really handy tool. I made my last batch with powdered ginger and they weren't the same. They're fine though, so if powdered is your only option, use 1.5-2 tsp depending on how strong a ginger flavor you want.
Honey, lemon, and ginger spelt muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
1 scant cup of full fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup honey
zest of 1 large lemon (or 1.5 small lemons)
¼ cup lemon juice
2 eggs
1½ tsp baking powder
½ baking soda
2 cups spelt flour
1-1.5 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
¼ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the yogurt, olive oil, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, and ginger. Whisk each egg individually into the batter. To the same bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined.
Prep your muffin tins by either spraying or wiping with olive oil or adding cupcake liners. Do this after mixing the batter in order to let your leaveners (baking soda and baking powder) start to work. Fill cupcake tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Yield: 12 muffins
Brussels sprout fritters
Fritters are a tricky business, in my experience. They aren't burgers, so the ingredients won't form a patty necessarily. You also don't want to use so much flour or binder that you end up with a hush puppy or a funnel cake-like batter with just a hint of veggies. But, if they fall apart, you go from fritter to hash, which is a different animal. The trick seems to be using just enough egg, flour, or cheese (or, as in this case, all three) to get the veggies to stick together without masking the produce that should stand out.
Brussels sprouts are my favorite and in season now, so I want M to love them as much as I do. He'll eat them roasted when they're right out of the oven (who wouldn't eat something crispy and salty fresh out of the oven?), but he won't eat them as leftovers. I tried fritterizing them instead and have had more luck. I also added some bacon because, bacon.
A couple of notes: These guys are still a smidge delicate. Two keys for my fritter success have been making sure that the oil is hot before starting the cooking and letting the first side get a good seer before flipping. I also have to manage my expectations that they'll stick together entirely. And lastly, the smaller the fritter, the more likely you'll flip without breaking. BUT, if this all seems like too much, just throw half or all of the mixture (depending on the size of your pan) into an oven-safe pan and make one or two giant fritters, cooking them like a frittata.
Brussels sprout fritters
12 oz brussels sprouts, shredded
8 oz purple cabbage, shredded
5 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
4 eggs, lightly whisked
½ cup + 2 Tbsp garbanzo flour*
½ cup + 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 large cloves garlic, minced
S/P
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided (more, if needed)
*I used garbanzo flour because I had it and it has more protein, iron, and fiber than white flour and is gluten-free. But swap in whatever flour you have on hand.
Heat a large pan over a medium flame and add the bacon when hot. In the meantime, shred the brussels sprouts and cabbage with your food processor or by hand, pausing a few times to check the bacon and flip it over. (Or, if you’re smarter than me, and you bought your veggies pre-shredded, dump them in a large bowl and gather your other ingredients.) When the bacon is crisped, let it cool on a paper towel for a few minutes and crumble it into the veggies. Pour off the bacon grease and wipe down the pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Dump them onto the veggies and stir to combine. In that same small bowl that’s now empty, add the eggs and lightly whisk with a fork to break up the yolks. Add to the veggie, flour, and cheese mixture, and stir again to combine, making sure that everything is well distributed.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over a medium flame until very hot. Test with a bit of the veggie mixture to see if it starts bubbling immediately. If yes, your pan is ready. Using a large spoon or your hands, add mounds of about 1/3 cup of the veggies into the oil (our large pan accommodated 4 fritters at a time). Fry for 5-6 minutes until there’s a good seer on one side. Carefully flip (I use a silicone spatula and a fork) and repeat on the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.
Yield: 16-18 fritters
