Pepperoni Pizza Rollups
Packed with the delicious flavours you would come to expect from pepperoni pizza, these creative rollups are a fun and filling dinner option! They can serve two as a main meal, or 4 as a lighter meal.
Servings 2 people
Calories 999kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the 'dough'
- 100 g almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 170 g fresh mozzarella drained and finely chopped
- 60 g full-fat cream cheese (soft cheese)
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 TB tomato concentrated puree
To finish to rollups
- reserved 'dough'
- 100 g pepperoni slices
- reserved tomato sauce
- 40 g full-fat Cheddar cheese grated
- 1 tsp Parmesan cheese finely grated
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 basil leaves finely sliced
Instructions
- Combine the almond flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk the egg well in a separate bowl.
- Finely chop the fresh mozzarella into small pieces. (We melt it anyway, but in this way you can ensure even melting.) IMPORTANT NOTE: I have also made this recipe using store-bought, ready-grated mozzarella. It works just the same (if not better). However, those usually include a small amount of potato starch, so using it will depend how strict you are on keto. (In my personal opinion, those trace amounts of potato starch do not bother me, but for the sake of keeping my recipes extremely low carb for my readers, I develop using both and offer tips for best success.)
- Place the chopped mozzarella into a wide-bottomed, microwave-friendly bowl. Add the cream cheese. This is what you should have ready:
- Place the bowl of cheese in the microwave for 1 min 20 seconds, until the cheese completely melts. (IF USING fresh mozzarella, tip out any excess liquid which separates from the melted cheese after microwaving. Not doing so will result in your mixture being far too wet. (You won't have this issue when using store-bought ready-grated mozzarella). In the meantime, tip the almond flour mixture into a mini food processor.
- Once the cheese has melted, immediately add to the food processor and blitz until the mixture starts coming together. Don't worry if it seems like it doesn't - it will. You may need stop and 'detangle' the stringy mozzarella from the blades.
- Tip in the whisked egg mix and blitz until you have a thick, well-combined dough.
- If you feel like your dough is too wet, add a tablespoon or two of almond flour. Place the ball of dough into a bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- At this time, you can preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven). This is 200°C for conventional ovens (or 400°F / gas mark 6) and start the tomato sauce. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready.
- Melt the butter in a small pan over moderately low heat and cook the garlic until it softens. Add the tomatoes and dried oregano. Cook over this heat until the tomato cooks down and breaks up. Use a spoon or spatula to 'chop' the pieces in the pan. This doesn't take too long. Stir in the tomato concentrate and remove the sauce and set aside to cool a little.
- By this time, the 20 minutes for the dough to cool down in the fridge is likely up.
- Tip the dough out onto a long sheet of baking parchment paper. Cover with a second long sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll out a long, rectangle (approx 30 x 16cm / 12 x 6.3 inches). Use a pastry scraper to neaten up the rectangle, the 'dough' is easy to manipulate and spread.
- Lift the top sheet of parchment. Do not be alarmed if some 'dough' is stuck to the top piece of parchment. Use your pastry scraper to scrape it off and 'add' it to the edges of your rectangle.
- It should look like this:
- Lay over the sliced pepperoni.
- Use a silicon spatula or palette knife to spread over the tomato sauce you made. Scatter over the grated Cheddar cheese. It may not seem like a lot of Cheddar, but this dish is very rich already!
- This is where it gets a bit tricky: roll the dough up from the top down, but do so gently, using a pastry scraper to move things along and assist the dough from lifting from the paper. Luckily, the 'dough' is manageable, and if you encounter any 'holes' you can simply pinch them closed. I found that folding the messy parchment in on itself as I go along helps a great deal. Try and roll as tightly as possible.
- Now, run a sharp knife under boiling hot tap water and slice the cylinder into 8 pieces, running the knife under hot water between each slice. This makes it easier to slice through without 'squashing' the dough too much.
- Carefully lift each piece (you can use a palette knife or cake lifter) and place them cut side up into suitably sized dish(es). I had two cute dishes which were the perfect size, but this is up to you: as long as the pieces have a little space in between them (the baking powder will make them rise and expand). NOTE: When you lift a piece and it looks like its falling apart, simply fold it in on itself, as pictured. Its messy, its rustic, but its worth all your amazing effort! Place onto a tray for easier removal and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, reduce the oven to 160°C (fan oven). This is 180°C for conventional ovens (or 350°F / gas mark 4). I always rotate the tray now as well. Cook at this temperature for another 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the hot dishes and serve with finely grated Parmesan scattered over. Season with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with the sliced basil leaves.
Notes
My name is Monya Kilian Palmer. If you loved this recipe, please follow and tag me @mkilianpalmer on Instagram so we can all see your lovely creations!
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Nutrition
Calories: 999kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.5g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 84g