Ham Swiss Stromboli

Clay brought Sarah to Sunday dinner and she ate two helpings of soup beans and asked for the recipe. This is the moment. This is the moment I've been waiting for since Clay brought her to the house the first time — the moment when the woman asks for the recipe, because asking for the recipe is not about the food, it's about the family. It's saying I want to make what you make, I want to carry what you carry, I want to be part of the chain that passes soup beans from Betty to Craig to the kitchen table where your son sits beside me. Connie caught my eye across the table. The look. The same look from the Labor Day cookout. This one is different. This one might be the one who saves him. Or at least the one who loves him while he saves himself.

I gave Sarah the recipe. Wrote it out by hand on a piece of paper at the table — pinto beans, ham hock, onion, garlic, salt, slow heat, six hours, cornbread on the side. She read it and said this is simple. I said the best things are simple. She said my grandmother said the same thing. I said your grandmother was right. She folded the paper and put it in her purse like it was a document of value, which it is, because it is Betty's recipe written in my hand given to a woman from Whitesburg who is sitting at my table beside my son, and the paper is a kind of deed, a transfer of something that can't be measured in cups or tablespoons but can be measured in the weight of what it carries forward.

Made a coconut cake for no reason. Three layers, coconut frosting, the kind of cake that takes three hours and is worth every minute. Connie said who's the cake for. I said it's for the table. She said the table doesn't eat cake. I said the table holds the cake and the people eat the cake and the people are here and the cake is here and that's reason enough.

Ham was already on my mind — the hock in the beans, the way it disappears into the broth and gives everything it has to the pot. After Sarah put that recipe in her purse, I kept thinking about ham and what it means to feed people you want to keep around. This stromboli is a different kind of ham dish, the kind you pull from the oven when the table is full and nobody wants the evening to end — rolled up, golden, sliceable, shareable, the exact shape of a meal that says stay a little longer.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb refrigerated pizza dough (or homemade), brought to room temperature
1/2 lb deli ham, thinly sliced
6 oz Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly flour a clean surface for rolling.
Roll the dough. On the floured surface, roll the pizza dough into a rectangle roughly 12 by 16 inches. Try to keep the thickness even so the stromboli bakes consistently.
Spread the mustard. Spread the Dijon mustard evenly over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
Layer the fillings. Lay the ham slices evenly over the mustard, then layer the Swiss cheese on top. Season with black pepper.
Roll it up. Starting from one of the long edges, roll the dough tightly into a log, jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam and the ends firmly to seal. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
Season the outside. Mix the melted butter with garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Brush the entire surface of the stromboli with the butter mixture, then brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle Parmesan on top if using. Cut 3 or 4 shallow diagonal slits across the top to allow steam to escape.
Bake. Bake for 22–26 minutes, until deep golden brown and the dough is cooked through. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped.
Rest and slice. Let the stromboli rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thick rounds. Serve warm, with extra Dijon on the side if you like.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ham Swiss Stromboli — The Recipe You Hand to Someone You’re Keeping