What Is Stromboli?
If you're in the mood for pizza, but at the same time, you want something different than the regular slice, you can always order stromboli. This delicious on-the-go pizza delight is a great alternative to the good old pie.Stromboli is a rolled sandwich made of pizza dough. It is an alternative to classic pizza because it is mostly made with the same fillings and toppings. Local pizza chefs make it from scratch using:
- Pizza dough
- Pizza sauce
- Cheese
- Toppings (meat, veggies, or both)
- Marinara sauce on the side, for dipping
Let's start with the dough. After kneading, the dough is shaped into a rectangle. Tomato sauce, cheese, meat, and other toppings are put onto the dough.The tomato sauce is an optional ingredient since not every restaurant uses it in their stromboli sandwiches. Lots of cheese is added, all over the dough.Since stromboli is a kind of inside-out sandwich, all the good stuff is rolled inside the sandwich. Thus, it must be perfectly baked. That is why shredded, low-moisture mozzarella is the best cheese option for it.Cured meats or salami are the most popular meat types for this snack, with pepperoni being the number one meat choice.
How Was Stromboli Invented?
Just by the name, one can quickly think of stromboli as an Italian invention. There is a volcano mountain in Italy with that name, so it must be Italiano, right?Well, Americans should be proud since this mouth-watering bite is a local creation. The compliments go to the pizza chef Nazzareno Romano from Philadelphia. He made the first stromboli back in the 1950s while experimenting with pizza.Nazzareno's grandchildren are still running Romano's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant today.So, what was inside the original stromboli? Nazzareno made it with simple ingredients like ham, cheese, and peppers.But where did the name Stromboli come from? Well, that is another curiosity.The legend says it's named after the notorious volcano primarily because of its shape. And because of the hot content hiding in both the volcano and the sandwich.However, the more probable version is that stromboli shares its name with a now-classic black-and-white movie from 1950.Ingrid Bergman, the leading female, and the writer and director Roberto Rossellini started a romantic relationship during the shooting. As you might suspect, it was a massive tittle-tattle since both of them were already married.This put them and the movie in the top gossip headlines, and everybody talked about it.Therefore, one of Nazzareno's in-laws suggested naming the sandwich stromboli.
What's The Difference Between Calzone And Stromboli?
Despite being very similar, the two are different types of snacks. Many people mistake one for the other or are unsure what to order.While stromboli was invented in Philadelphia, the calzone originated in Naples, Italy, in the 18th century.Although pizza dough is used for both, the dough's folding and shape are the main difference. Calzone is made from a round dough simply folded into a semicircle, and sealed with fingers or forks at the ends.Stromboli is made with a rectangle dough, rolled into a spiral with folded ends to keep the filling inside.Both are brushed with egg wash before baking.In Italy, the calzone is typically made with some sauce in the filling. However, this is not customary for US chefs. Although some American chefs put tomato sauce inside a calzone, it is usually a stromboli with tomato sauce inside.Even though both can have mozzarella inside, calzones always have ricotta cheese as one of the ingredients. The stromboli sandwich is made without ricotta.Usually, the calzone has more pizza-like toppings while the stromboli fillings are like those used for sandwiches.The calzone is made as a single dish and is eaten individually. The stromboli, on the other hand, is cut to pieces and shared as an appetizer.
How Many Calories Are in a Classic Stromboli?
The amount of calories in a stromboli of 425g is around 1078. This includes 65g of total fat or 83% of the daily value based on a 2000-calorie diet.In addition, there are 197mg of cholesterol (66%) and 2829mg of sodium (123%). As for the amount of total carbohydrates and protein, it is 58g (21%) and 63g respectively.What's more, there are 728mg of potassium (16%).
Where Can I Find Stromboli Near Me?
Having read all this information about this spectacular snack, we're sure you'd love to grab some right away.
As always, we at Slice are here to offer some restaurant recommendations.
For those of you in Las Vegas we suggest heading to on S Jones Blvd. They're open 7 days a week and also have pickup and delivery available. Plus, make sure to check out their deals and coupons while you're at it.
And if you're in Philly, then the place we have for you is - Montesini Pizza. Located on Frankford Ave, they're open 7 days a week, offer takeout and delivery, and you even save 5% on any online order through Slice.
