The Italian Stallion

Purchased pizza dough is filled with ground pork, mushrooms, salami, cheese and a savory tomato sauce, then rolled up, baked and sliced.

Ingredients:

• Tomato Sauce:
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Pork Topping:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 pound lean ground pork
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Sauted Mushrooms:
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• Additional:
• 1-2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 13.8 ounce can refrigerated pizza crust
• 4 ounces sliced provolone
• 4 ounces sliced salami
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered. Remove from heat and blend with a hand emulsion blender until sauce is smooth. Return sauce to heat, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and let cool. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring constantly, until pork is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add red wine vinegar, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drain mixture on a paper towel lined plate. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and continue cooking until they have released their moisture, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. To assemble, lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Carefully unroll pizza dough onto floured surface. Gently pull edges outward to form a rectangle. Layer provolone cheese slices onto dough, leaving a 1 inch border along long ends of dough, and a 2 inch border at the short end of dough. Next layer salami, mushrooms, pork and mozzarella--in that order. Top with half of the tomato sauce, reserving remaining in a dish for serving. Sprinkle with fresh basil. Starting at one of the long ends, roll up jelly roll style. Press and seal ends of roll together. Place roll, seam side down, on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Brush roll all over with beaten egg. Sprinkle roll with Parmesan cheese. Place roll in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove roll and cut 4 slits across top of roll. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes. Remove, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with tomato sauce.

Number of Servings: 8

Notes from the Cook: This is an adaptation of a dish my mother-in-law made for my husband growing up. Taking the extra time for the pork topping and mushrooms really makes this an amazing party food. However, if you're in a crunch substitute precooked Italian sausage and canned mushrooms.