Broccoli Cheddar Rolls
New [to me] pizza was had on Friday night. Handsome Pizza is a sweet little pie shop over on Killingsworth. Their special had stinging nettles, mozzarella, shaved onion, Calabrian chilies and parmesan. I ate it. It sounded so intriguing. My parents have been on a big stinging nettle tea kick, so it seemed only appropriate to eat it on pizza. It was leafy, yet tender. It didn’t have a super strong flavor of anything specific despite being all over the pizza. It was really quite nice. Plus you can’t go wrong with Calabrian chilies.
This was another one of those recipes where I saw it one afternoon and then made it that night for dinner. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. The siren call of pizza dough is strong. I ate an obscene amount of the rolls immediately from the oven. I’m convinced that broccoli negates any ill effects of eating nearly an entire ball of pizza dough to yourself. There is something so satisfying eating these to the gooey middle. Who needs cinnamon rolls when you have these? I’m pretty sure I’d eat them over cinnamon rolls every time.
Inspiration: Shutterbean
Ingredients
- 1 ball of pizza dough
- 2 heads of broccoli, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- liberal application of red chile flakes
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400° and ready a baking sheet. Roll out the ball of pizza dough about 9″x16″. In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the broccoli and sauté for a good five minutes. It’s going to turn bright green and soften. Add the garlic and stir often until it is also softened.
Sprinkle the broccoli mixture evenly across the rolled out dough. Leave about an inch around all sides. Top with the cheese, the red chile flakes, and salt and pepper. Starting with one of the 16″ sides, roll everything up. Cut them into rolls. I don’t have a dough scraper, but I do have a bread knife, and that seems to work well. Place the rolls face up on your baking sheet. Sprinkle any of the cheese that escaped while cutting the dough on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minute before eating. It’s necessary because boiling hot cheese is the worst, but it’s going to smell so good!