Pepper Stromzoni

3 medium red, yellow, and/or green peppers
6 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter
1/4 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup ricotta cheese or cream cheese
2 tbsp snipped fresh basil (optional)
1 10-oz package refrigerated pizza dough and 1 egg OR 2-3 packages Crescent rolls

Hands-on Time: About 1 hour
Cook Time: About 15 minutes

I first saw this recipe in a grocery store advertisement using pizza dough to make one long "stromzoni" shaped like a snake, with olives for the eyes and a red pepper tongue. However, I could never find refrigerated pizza dough at my store, so I adapted this into a less decorative recipe by using Crescent roll dough. I've also cooked it for some people who don't like ricotta cheese and have tried it with cream cheese instead, which works pretty well, so there are a lot of ways to adapt this recipe to whatever works best for you, and you can go so far as to try different ingredients in addition to or in place of the peppers (black olives are also great).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you are using the pizza dough, line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, grease the foil or paper, and set the sheet aside. If you are using the Crescent rolls, you can cook on a regular baking sheet as you would normal Crescent rolls.

Wash and dice the peppers and mince the garlic. Melt the butter in a large skillet and cook the peppers and garlic for about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. This will give the peppers a more smoky, roasted flavour; if you don't like that flavour or are pressed for time, I've also tried it without roasting the vegetables, in which case you can skip the butter and just mix all the ingredients together later on. If you are roasting, stir in the crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper with the vegetables and set them aside to cool.

In a medium bowl stir together the mozzarella, ricotta or cream cheese, and basil or mozzarella if you are using it. Stir the vegetables (and seasonings if you have not roasted) into the cheese mixture until well combined and set aside. The stirring may seem time consuming and necessitates getting one more bowl dirty, but it really is necessary; I've tried the recipe just laying the ingredients one by one over the crust, and it really doesn't turn out well, especially if you're using cream cheese.

If you are using the pizza dough, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 10" x 16" rectangle. Cut this into two 8" x 10" rectangles. Spoon half of the pepper mixture along half of each rectangle. Fold over and tuck the ends under. Place each stromzoni on the prepared baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut 4 diagonal slits in the top of each loaf. Beat the egg and brush it over the loaves. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. This will make 4 servings.

If you are using the Crescent rolls, unfold the dough from the package and take up a rectangular section of 2 triangles at a time, separating this from the rest of the dough but not separating the 2 triangles from each other. Each package contains 8 triangles or 4 rectangles, and you will use 2 rectangles to make each stromzoni. You can get by with only 2 packages, but this results in very fully stuffed pockets, so you might prefer using at least part of a 3rd package; you can always cook the leftover dough as regular Crescent rolls if you don't use it all for this recipe. Lay down a rectangle on the baking sheet and press the dough between the two triangles together. Layer some of the pepper mixture on top, leaving some room around the sides. Layer another dough rectangle over the top of this and lift up the dough from the bottom to pinch together with the top until you have a sealed pocket all the way around. Press the top triangles more closely together as well, although you do not have to completely close the seam. Each package of Crescent rolls usually contains 2 rectangular sections that are longer and 2 that are shorter, so be sure to match up long with long and short with short or you will have a hard time sealing the pockets. Bake according to the package directions for the Crescent rolls. 2 packages will make 4 servings.