Oven Baked Steam Rollers!

Rotoli di Tortilla al Forno con Ripieno di Patate, Cimi di Rapa, Olive, Pancetta e Formaggio
Baked Tortilla Rolls with Potato, Broccoli Rabe, Olives, Bacon and Cheese

Here is another simple and yummy idea for you, perfect for a Summer snack at lunch time, for a picnic, party-treat... you name it! And so easy to make using super-versatile tortilla's to wrap this tasty filling in and then bake until crispy and brown on the outside, whilst remaining succulent and delicious on the inside... mmmh!

These little snacks taste wonderful hot or cold and the filling is based on my favorite ingredients of a Sicilian "schiacciata". I just decided to use the tortilla's rather than a pizza dough to make these- so they would be lighter, more convenient... and just plain easier to make! And this is all there was to it...

I started off by steaming a couple of potatoes- I steamed them rather than boiling them, because I am wanted to steam the broccoli rabe and saw no reason to use two saucepans! Plain and simple! So after 8-9 minutes of steaming the potatoes I added the broccoli rabe, which was cut into bite-sized pieces, to the other side of the steam rack and continued steaming for 5-6 minutes more. By that time both the potatoes and the broccoli were good and ready to be prepared for that filling!

In a small frying pan, I heated up finely chopped bacon, sliced black olives, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, a little finely chopped garlic, a finely sliced Spring onion and some diced sun-dried tomatoes. Once the bacon was slightly brown, I turned off the heat and got busy with the rest of the ingredients...

I mashed the potatoes coarsely and seasoned them with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg, then added the broccoli rabe and a little bit of olive oil. Next came a few herbs which I chopped finely and added to some fresh, creamy ricotta cheese- I used parsley, rosemary and chives and stirred them into the ricotta with a little salt for seasoning.

I spread the tortillas with the herb-ricotta and then spread some of the mashed potato and broccoli on top of that. A little extra nutmeg and cumin seed and then a sprinkle of the other fried ingredients, spread evenly to cover the whole of the tortilla. I then rolled the tortilla up tightly and carefully and cut off the end pieces, then split the remaining rill into two. Simple.

I laid them onto a baking tray with the end-side down, so that they remained closed. Into the oven they went at 300°F for around 5 minutes, after which I removed them, turned them over carefully, drizzled them very lightly with olive oil and sprinkled them with just a little parmesan cheese. The next 3-4 minutes of their existence was spent under the broiler... until the cheese melted and the rolls became a lovely and crispy golden brown... delicious!

I ate mine straight away as you can imagine- piping hot and wonderful! But remember... they will also taste wonderful the day after, cold from the fridge on a hot Summer's day! If they are around that long that is!