Beef and Eggplant Stromboli

March 13, 2009

There is this local pizza joint in my home town the makes the most amazing Stromboli. It is a favorite of my whole family and any time we are together you can bet that at least one dinner will end up being Stromboli night.
I’ve never had anything comparable. They use the most amazing soft, white bread that has been toasted with butter giving it this perfect crisp, chewiness. The meat is of sausage type, very finely ground with a sauce that you can order mild, medium or hot made so with varying amounts of crushed red pepper. Each bite is just full of chewy, spicy, cheesy goodness. It is one of those things that, try as you may, you will never be able to replicate exactly. Good for them, I guess.
Despite failed efforts I still continue to make the occasional Stromboli. I seem to change it a bit every time and last night was a good example. Earlier in the week I had roasted an eggplant intending to make some Baba ghanoush only to realize that I was out of tahini. Not wanting to waste it, I thought why not incorporate it into my sandwich somehow for a bit of a nutritional boost.
After eating the Strombolis, I expressed to my husband how great they were. Sorry, I’m not at all afraid to be proud when I make something darn tasty. The opposite happens equally as often so I figure take credit of something good when you can.
I purchase bread at a local bakery here and this time I used pão francês; small roll-like breads that are a bit lighter and softer than a traditional baguette. Any type of roll would do though, just pick your favorite.

While I can’t pass on a Stromboli as tasty as the one I get in my hometown, this one isn’t so bad, as well as not being so bad for you.

Beef and Eggplant Stromboli
4 rolls or pieces of baguette, 3 to 4 inches in length
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ medium onion, chopped
½ lb lean ground beef
Insides of one roasted eggplant
½ to 1 can of tomato sauce
1 tsp dried basil
1tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
Dash of salt and black pepper
1 cup shredded cheese
Split each of your breads and broil, cut side up, for 3 to 5 minutes until dried out a bit and slightly browned. Set aside.
Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add garlic. Cook for one minute then add pepper and onion. Cook for two minutes and add beef. Once beef is browned add in eggplant and heat through. Add sauce to desired consistency and seasonings, let simmer a few minutes for flavors to blend.
Spread ¼ of the sauce mixture on the bottom of each Stromboli bread. Use ¼ cup cheese for each sprinkling half on the meat mixture and half on the top half of the roll.

Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly. Assemble the sandwich and serve.

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  • VeggieGirl March 13, 2009 at 9:24 am

    Classic sandwich!!

    Happy Friday, Lori!!

  • lesley March 13, 2009 at 9:34 am

    Mmmm, I love stromboli. My family also loves it and my mom used to make it quite often when I was younger. Since then I have made it once, but should do it again!

  • Erica March 13, 2009 at 9:49 am

    This sounds really good! Isn’t it funny how you developed family food traditions? Question though- isn’t stromboli usually stuffed dough that is sealed (like a calzone sort of?) I actually really like the idea of a more sandwich like version!

  • Lori March 13, 2009 at 10:57 am

    VeggieGirl – Enjoy your weekend!

    lesley – We never made them much, but probably b/c of the ones at the pizza shop. 🙂 It is nice to have them at home once in a while though.

    Erica – Hmmm…maybe it is a regional thing. All the Stromboli I’ve ever had have been sandwiches.

  • 5 Star Foodie March 13, 2009 at 11:37 am

    This sounds really good with a fresh baguette! Delicious!

  • lauren March 13, 2009 at 11:38 am

    I have always thought of stromboli as a type of calzone too. I think Erica lived in MD for a time also – so maybe that is it! it looks delish – either way.

  • Heather March 13, 2009 at 11:44 am

    ohhh. i really like stromboli. i love the addition of eggplant – that sounds delicious! i like the idea of the different heat sauces at the one in your home town! sounds yummy!

  • laura March 13, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    Hmmm…I have never had stromboli, but it sure sounds good. I did make eggplant parm this week, which is something I like and similar flavors, so I could enjoy your healthy version and be none the wiser 😉

  • Anna Mor March 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    Mmmm I never had stromboli before but it sure looks delicious, I’ll try to make some pretty soon.
    I was sent a meme and I’m passing it to you, hope you don’t mind.

  • Tangled Noodle March 13, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    I can’t say I’ve ever had a stromboli before and now I see what I’ve been missing! The eggplant addition sounds so good – it’s a great ingredient that’s not used nearly enough. I was going to ask as I read if you ended up using a Brazilian bread. It looks so good! We’re going to be out and about on errands all day tomorrow and strombolis would be a great meal to cap it off!

  • Lori March 15, 2009 at 6:38 am

    5 Star Foodie – I really love sandwiches on baguettes over anything else.

    lauren – Really interesting. I had never even stopped to consider different styles. Thinking about it, although I’ve had them from several places around my hometown, I don’t know that I have ordered them when traveling. Good to know!

    Heather – I love with them a little extra red pepper. Big spice fan!

    laura – I like making eggplant parm too. This did kind of turn out like one of those “hide the veggies” dishes. Ha, ha!

    Hi Anna – Definitley give them a try. Thanks. I’ll check out the meme.

    Tangled Noodle – I really like the breads here. I am disappointed that there aren’t many grainy breads available in our city, but I have seen some in Curitiba. Although the white isn’t so bad fresh from the bakery without preservatives. I enjoy my share of white bread when it is like this. 🙂

  • Reeni♥ March 15, 2009 at 8:52 am

    Your version is delicious! A recipe to rival your local pizza joint! I’ve never had a Stromboli on bread, either. Their usually cooked up in a pizza dough, long and thin, and then cut into slices.

  • Kevin March 15, 2009 at 9:58 am

    That sandwich looks good!

  • Lori March 16, 2009 at 5:39 am

    Reeni – I’m finding these Stromboli differences so interesting. Maybe I’ve led a sheltered Strom life and didn’t know it. Ha, ha!

    Kevin – Thanks! It was really tasty.

  • Jody March 19, 2009 at 11:12 am

    So I looked at your blog first thing this morning and that stromboli was on my mind all day… I just made/ate the stromboli w/eggplant and it was fantastic! My husband and I are in food-coma.

  • Lori March 19, 2009 at 4:22 pm

    Jody – How nice of you to swing by and let me know you liked them! Thanks!

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