PEPPERONI PIZZA COMBOS

Chef Shanna O’Hea created her own version of the popular snack food ‘Combos’ on the Food Network show “Rewrapped” last October. You can find cheese powder in the grocery store. You will need a sharpening steel and a pastry bag to make this recipe.

Yields 48

CRUST:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

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1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon sea salt

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FILLING:

2 ounces pepperoni

8 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup tomato paste

¼ cup powdered cheddar cheese

¼ cup Italian bread crumbs

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1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

Salt and pepper

FINISHING:

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

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Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

To make the crust, mix all dry ingredients together. Combine the olive oil with 1/2 cup cold water and stir the mixture into the dough ingredients until a dough forms. Add more water if the dough is too dry and fails to coalesce.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and cover with plastic. Working 1 piece at a time, roll out dough into a very thin square. Cut into 2-inch strips and wrap each around an oiled steel rod (Shanna O’Hea uses her sharpening steel that’s ordinarily for knives.) Brush with egg to seal and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, seam side down, or until crisp. Gently remove the crust tubes from the rod and reserve. (This seems a little complicated, but if you do not use the rod, the dough collapses on itself and has a chewy, not crisp, interior.)

To make the filling, slice pepperoni, place in a heated sauté pan and cook over medium heat about 3 to 5 minutes until beginning to brown.

Pulse the pepperoni in a food processor until it forms a paste. Add the cream cheese and tomato paste and puree. Stir in powdered cheese, bread crumbs, brown sugar and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The texture should be dry and sandy like the interiors of the original Combos, so add more bread crumbs if necessary.

Fill a piping bag with the mixture. To finish, pipe the filling into the crust tubes and sprinkle the tubes with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.


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