I love Instagram for its ease of usage and the dynamic Paleo AIP community that’s thriving there. It’s really nice to connect with fellow AIP-ers and admire their culinary creativity. I was browsing my Instagram feed one day and came across a photo that made me go “Get outta here, no way that’s AIP!” It was a photo from Alaena of @grazedandenthused featuring her Rosemary + Prosciutto Stromboli (you can connect with Alaena via Instagram @grazedandenthused or her website Grazed & Enthused). I immediately bookmarked her recipe and added prosciutto to my grocery shopping list, determined to try it. Even though I had never eaten a stromboli in my life (only pizza and calzones). Has that ever happened to you? Wanting to try something out just because it looked so good, even though you’d never eaten it before?
Couple of weeks later, I finally got around to giving it a go. I had to buy a new package of prosciutto, of course, as the other package was long devoured. I think I’m not the only one who had to postpone their stromboli-making plans due to irresistible snacking on prosciutto!
But I’m so glad I made it, as it’s such a treat. Almost crusty on the outside, slightly soft like melting cheese on the inside. Coupled with the baked cubes of winter squash, the complementary flavour of sage and the savouriness of the prosciutto slices, my family polished off the whole thing for our weekend breakfast. Who needs toast, eggs, and bacon when there’s this?
I couldn’t resist making a few changes depending on the ingredients available in my kitchen. This time around, it was winter squash that was beckoning to be used. A nice, big kabocha squash.
Do choose a winter squash that’s dense rather than watery when making this recipe. I think either a butternut squash or kabocha squash would do just fine. I didn’t have white fleshed sweet potatoes on hand (they are rather hard to come by where I am) so I decided to go with eddoes instead. Eddoes are similar to taro and can have a gummy and sticky consistency when mashed, which I used to my advantage when making the stromboli dough. It made the dough pliable enough to be handled and rolled in the absence of gluten or gums.
As Alaena suggested, the stromboli may be accompanied by a nightshade-free marinara sauce, though I didn’t make any and served it with a salad instead.
Think this is too complicated? Do check out Alaena’s recipe!
- 4 cups diced winter squash, in 1 cm/ 0.4 inch cubes (I used ½ medium kabocha squash)
- 1 tbsp fat/ oil of your choice (e.g. duck/ goose fat or avocado oil)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 cups mashed eddoes (I used 10 small eddoes)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup + 3 tbsp tapioca starch
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup + 3 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 tbsp sage, in chiffonade (2 sprigs of sage leaves)
- 8 - 10 thin slices prosciutto
- 1 tbsp duck/ goose fat, divided
- Preheat the oven to 450F/ 230C
- Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil
- Toss the diced winter squash with melted fat/ oil and sea salt and spread evenly over the baking sheet
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway
- Remove and set aside once cooking time is up and lower the oven temperature to 400F/200C
- While the squash is baking, prepare the stromboli dough
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed eddoes, sea salt, ¼ cup tapioca starch and olive oil
- Stir in ¼ cup arrowroot starch, adjusting the texture of the dough by adding the remaining 3 tablespoons of tapioca and arrowroot starch spoonful by spoonful and kneading by hand until it comes together to form a pliable and smooth dough (It should not be too sticky; your final amount of starch used may vary depending on the water content of the mashed eddoes)
- Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper (big enough to fit on a large baking sheet)
- Place a second piece of parchment paper over the dough and roll evenly with a rolling pin until the dough forms a large rectangle between ⅛ - ¼ inch (0.3 cm - 0.6 cm) thickness (aim for a thicker dough if you are afraid of tearing the dough)
- The longer side of the rectangle should be facing you
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper and sprinkle the nutritional yeast (if using) and the chiffonade of sage evenly over the dough
- Place slightly overlapping slices of prosciutto over the dough, leaving a border of 1 - 1.5 inches (2.5 - 4 cm) on all sides of the dough uncovered
- Scatter the cooked winter squash cubes evenly over the prosciutto layer
- Starting from the bottom of the parchment paper facing you, lift the two corners and gently guide the dough to roll up into a log form (avoid rolling up the dough too tightly or it will split during baking)
- Tuck the ends under and place the rolled up log seam side down
- Brush lightly with ½ tbsp melted fat and bake in the oven at the middle rack for 15 minutes, before reducing the temperature to 375F/ 190C and baking for another 25 - 30 minutes until fragrant
- Remove from the oven and brush lightly with the remaining ½ tbsp melted fat
- Switch the oven setting to 'broil' at high heat and broil for 3 - 5 minutes, until golden brown and starting to crisp (monitor carefully and remove from the oven if it starts to burn)
- Set aside to rest for 5 - 10 minutes before slicing into thick diagonal slices
- Serve immediately
Where to get certain ingredients (Note: affiliate links):
- Duck fat / Goose fat / Avocado oil
- Sea salt
- Tapioca starch
- Olive oil
- Arrowroot starch
- Nutritional yeast
- Prosciutto
Eddoes do not seem to be readily available here in the northeast. We do have taro, though. Could that be a suitable substitute? Thanks!
You could use taro as a substitute, though the colour is not as white as eddoes.
Stephanie, I know that you left this comment two years ago, but I just bought my first eddoes at H-Mart in Burlington, MA. If you happen to still be looking for them, they have them there! Also try the H-Mart in Cambridge, and maybe the Tropical Market in Roxbury.
Dora, thank you so much for all you do, sharing your recipes and traditions. I am so excited to try eddoes for the first time! I never would have noticed them if I hadn’t stumbled upon this recipe the other day.
This is good to know! Thank you, Chef Mary!