We love our savoury dishes here at Chew Town.I think it comes from growing up in an Italian household where the end of our family meal always consisted of either cheese or fresh fruit rather than dessert. It is why I feel much more at home when creating savoury recipes for Chew Town rather than sweet ones. When creating savoury recipes I start with a great idea and throw together a little of this and that writing it all down as I go – et voila! For sweet dishes a great idea is just the start… then I have to do a tonne of research, read a few books and try the dish a couple of times till I get it right.
So, when I was recently asked bySaclà to create a couple of unique recipes using theSaclàbrand pesto and pasta sauces, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only would I be in my savoury comfort zone… but the flavour profile was Italian and that I’ve got covered.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be bringing you a couple of recipes using theSaclà pesto products, but not in ways that you expect! You’ll see no stir through pastas or pizza toppings here. Instead, we’ll bring you a couple of ways you can use store bought pesto to create spectacular dishes that will be sure to impress your friends.
But it all helps if you start with a great product.There are many great things about theSaclà brand – It was founded 70 years ago in Piemonte Italy and is still run by the founding family (the Ercole family) three generations on. Also, all their products are made in Italy from the freshest ingredients and using traditional recipes then are shipped to you.
When I popped the lid of the chilli pesto jar open, the fragrance of the chillies and roasted capsic*ms immediately hit me. A little spoonful in the mouth and the unmistakable chilli hit is perfectly balanced with roasted capsic*ms, parmigiano reggiano cheese and parsley – but you definitely have to have a love of chilli. It packs a punch and that’s exactly what I look for in my chilli pesto.
Straight after tasting the pesto the idea for the first recipe hit – Chilli Pesto Scrolls. Putting together the recipe was easy, halve my family pizza dough recipe then fill with the chilli pesto, basil and mozzarella and bake… well, its a little more complicated than that and does require making fresh dough but the results are completely worth it.
And if you haven’t tried a savoury scroll before, then you are in for a treat. The perfect picnic food, or afternoon snack, even if you aren’t a fan of chilli, these could easily be made withSaclà’s basil pesto instead.
Chilli Pesto Scrolls
Makes 8
DOUGH
500g plain flour
2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup continental parsley, finely chopped
320ml water at room temp
2 teaspoons olive oil
FILLING
150g Saclàbrand chilli pesto (or basil pesto if you prefer)
150g mozzarella cheese, sliced
Small handful basil leaves, torn
DOUGH
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl with the parsley. Add half of the water to the dry ingredients and then mix, slowly adding the remaining water whilst mixing. Mix together well until the ingredients form a ball. At this point transfer to a well-floured bench top.
Add the olive oil to the ball of dough and knead it in. If necessary, add extra flour if it becomes too sticky and continue working dough. You want to knead the dough till the texture is smooth and elastic (about 6 – 8 minutes).
Once the dough is smooth and elastic return it a clean and oiled bowl, cover it with glad wrap and then a tea towel and keep warm until the mixture doubles in size (about 40 minutes).Once doubled remove from the bowl and roll out to a large rectangular shape.
Preheat oven to 180° Celsius.
FILLING
Spread the chilli pesto liberally over the dough in an even layer then top with mozzarella and basil. Starting at the long edge of the dough, gently begin to roll the dough to encase the filling inside until you have a long log shape. Cut edges off to even the ends, then cut the roll into 10 even portions.
Place the portions into a lined rectangular baking dish with the cut side up and ensure they are evenly distanced. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise again for at least 30 minutes (you can make these the day before and bake the next day if required).
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then serve.
Chew Town would like to acknowledge that this post was sponsored by Sacla. You can read Chew Town’s disclosure statement herefor more information on brands that Chew Town chooses to work with and why. The recipe above was created, developed and photographed by Chew Town.
