Pesto Pizza Rolls

A few days prior to writing this recipe, my daughter made cinnamon rolls and I had made a big batch of fresh pesto.  I was wondering how I could combine the two and make it savory. I came up with pesto and melty cheese all wrapped up in pizza dough rolls.  I find making these treats to be quite satisfying, but if you think making dough and pesto from scratch to be an endeavor, you may be able to find bags of fresh dough and jars of pesto from your local supermarket.  Hey, you can even find grated cheese too, but I think that takes some of the joy out of cooking.  Besides, it’s well worth the effort because making it all from scratch will kick up the freshness, which will have a big impact on the flavor.

You have to load these babies with tons of flavor, so a super herby fresh pesto is just perfection; however, it would be awesome with your favorite store-bought olive tapenade or garlic and onion-infused pizza sauce (just buy your favorite pizza sauce and add sautéed onions and garlic).

The Monterey Jack cheese can be switched out with mozzarella or havarti, which are both super melty. In fact, you could mix all three! And as for the parmesan, you could substitute asiago, aged manchego, or any other hard pungent cheese. Just be sure to save some of your cheeses to sprinkle on top of your rolls during the last five minutes of cooking and serve it right away for that ultra stringy cheesiness.

Extra cheese sprinkled during the last 5 minutes of cooking allows for maximum ooey gooeiness!

Pesto Pizza Rolls

Yield: 11” cast iron skillet

Make dough 1-12 hours prior

Pizza dough

¾ cup filtered water – 105F to 115F

1 envelope dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour – plus more for rolling

¾ tsp kosher salt

4 Tbsp evoo – divided, plus more for drizzling and the pan

Pesto

4oz fresh basil

1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

½ lemon – juice

2 small garlic cloves

¾ tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup evoo – the good stuff!

Cheeses & Olives

8oz Havarti/Monterey jack cheese - grated

4oz parmesan cheese – grated

12 castelvetrano olives – with the pits in

For the pizza dough

1.     In a small bowl, combine warm water (105F – 115F) with yeast and sugar.  Stir and let sit while you get the rest of the dough ingredients together.  It should start to foam slightly. 

2.     In a standing mixer with the dough hook attached, add flour, salt and 3 Tbsp evoo.  Add the yeast water and turn mixer on to medium-low and mix for about 5 minutes.  You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure it all gets incorporated.  You should be left with nice smooth ball of dough.

3.     In a separate large bowl, add the remaining 1 Tbsp of evoo.  Take the dough out of the mixer and knead a few times so it all comes together.  Form a ball, place it in the bowl, and then roll it around in the evoo so it is thoroughly coated.  Leave in the bowl, seam side down and cover with a kitchen towel for about an hour until it doubles in size.  You can leave it out at room temperature, but if you’re making the dough in the morning for dinner time, place it in the fridge so it proofs more slowly.  

For the pesto

1.     Remove the leaves from the basil, wash and dry in a salad spinner, and add to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients.  Process until the consistency is like course sand.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.  Taste and add more salt if you like.

a.     If your slivered almonds are not already toasted, you can place them on a silicone/parchment-lined sheet tray and toast in the oven at 375F for 6-8 minutes, tossing midway.  They should be slightly golden and fragrant.  Be sure they have cooled to room temperature before adding to the food processor.

2.     You may have leftover pesto, depending how liberally you spread it on the dough.  No worries, it will keep well in the fridge for up to a week with a layer of evoo on top.  The layer of evoo will stop it from oxidizing and turning brown.

For the cheeses & olives

1.     Grate the cheeses and set aside each in two separate piles.

2.     If you are adding olives, remove the pits by placing your chef’s knife flat over the olive and firmly tap a few times with the heal of your hand to flatten.  Pick out the pit and discard.  Finely chop the olive meat and set aside.

For the assembly

1.     Place your cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 375F.  You want both the skillet and the oven to heat up together.

2.     On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out in a rough rectangle measuring approximately 20” X 15”.  Position the flattened dough so it is horizontal.  This will make it easier to roll up.

3.     Slather about ½ cup pesto onto the dough and spread out, leaving 1” space on the top, right, and left edges.  

4.     Sprinkle three-quarters of the Havarti/Monterey jack cheese evenly over the pesto, reserving a quarter of it for later.  Do the same with the parmesan.  If you are using the olives, sprinkle them over the cheeses.

5.     Roll up the dough, starting closest to you.  Don’t roll too tight or the filling will ooze out.  Once you have a “sausage”, cut the roll into 1 ½” -2”” slices.

6.     Carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and place on a trivet to protect your work surface.  Add 2 Tbsp of evoo and swirl around so the bottom is evenly coated.  Place the pizza rolls in the pan, cut side down, like you would when making cinnamon rolls.  They should all fit.  

7.     Return to the oven for 40 minutes to bake.  Be careful, the pan and the trivet (especially if it’s made of metal) will be very hot.  

8.     Remove from the oven and sprinkle remaining cheeses over the top and return to the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheeses.

9.     Serve straight from the oven so you can enjoy the ooey gooey cheesy goodness!