Stromboli (food)

Stromboli
Homemade stromboli
Type Turnover
Place of origin United States
Region or state Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Italians in Philadelphia)
Created by Nazzareno Romano
Main ingredients Bread dough, cheese (typically mozzarella), meat or vegetables

Stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various Italian cheeses (typically mozzarella) and cold cuts (typically Italian meats such as salami, capocollo and bresaola) or vegetables. The dough used is either Italian bread dough or pizza dough.

Stromboli was likely invented by Italian-Americans or Italian immigrants in the United States in Philadelphia, though it may have similar counterparts originating in Italy. It is believed to be named after the Italian film Stromboli or the island of Stromboli.

A stromboli is somewhat similar to a calzone. A calzone is a baked turnover stuffed with pizza ingredients. A stromboli is usually made by rolling up dough with cheese and meat ingredients and is then baked, but it does not generally contain pizza ingredients aside from cheese and Italian meats. Generally, strombolis do not usually contain tomato sauce, unlike calzones. A calzone is crescent-shaped, and a stromboli is usually shaped like a long cylinder. The distinction between the two is complicated because there is some variation in what constitutes a stromboli.[1][2][3]

Preparation

Many American pizza shops serve a stromboli using pizza dough that is folded in half with fillings, similar to a half-moon-shaped calzone.[2] At other establishments, a stromboli is made with a square-shaped pizza dough that can be topped with any pizza toppings and is then rolled into a cylindrical jelly roll shape and baked. Other variations include adding pizza sauce or deep-frying, similar to panzerotti.[3]

Origins

There are several claims regarding the origin of the usage of the name stromboli for food in the United States.

Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria claims to have first used the name in 1950 in Essington, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia, courtesy of Nazzareno Romano. The pizzeria owner had experimented with "pizza imbottito", or "stuffed pizza", and added ham, cotechino salame, cheese and peppers into a pocket of bread dough.[3] His future brother-in-law suggested he name it after the recently released movie Stromboli, notorious for an off-screen affair between married actress, Ingrid Bergman, and married director, Roberto Rossellini, resulting in a love child.[2]

In 1954, Mike Aquino of Mike's Burger Royal in Spokane, Washington, says he also named a sandwich after the same movie.[4] However, Aquino's version appears to only share the same name as the commonly accepted version of the stromboli and is significantly different from the Philadelphia turnover version that is usually defined as a "stromboli". Aquino's "stromboli" is a sandwich consisting of capicola ham and provolone cheese covered in an Italian chili sauce on a French bread roll.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shuster, Jim (May 10, 2012). "The Stromboli vs. the Calzone", Gilroy Patch. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Daley, Bill (March 26, 2013). "Calzone v. Stromboli". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Vadala, Nick (June 17, 2014). "The Stromboli: A Philly Original, Courtesy of Romano's". Philly.com. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ Stimson, William (June 5, 1976). "Stromboli Sandwich is Spokane Original". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved August 16, 2013.

Further reading

  • Mariani, John (1999). The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. New York: Lebhar-Friedman Books. ISBN 0-86730-784-6. OCLC 41319951.
  • Romano, Pete. Nazzareno Romano's Grandson
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