“Ten-year-old Nyesha would have liked to replicate this today,” says Nyesha Arrington, lovingly looking at a bag of frozen Totino pizza rolls. „And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

The adult Nyesha not only guides us through every step of making homemade pizza rolls from scratch – from making the filling and sauce, to making the dough and building the buns – she also gives tips on roasting, baking, freezing and heating them, just like the ones in your freezer. The only difference ?, „These pizza rolls have 10 ingredients,” emphasizes Nyesha, „while [Totino’s] Pizza rolls contain a ton of ingredients, so this is real food. „

“These are super flaky, they have high quality ingredients, and an amazing ratio of sauce and cheese. I feel like a kid again! „she continues as she pricks one open and sticks it in her mouth.” Who would have thought these are so easy to recreate? ”

Check out Nyesha Arrington’s recipe for homemade pizza rolls below.

Molly J. Smith Photogrhy

Homemade pizza rolls

Serves 4-6 as a petizer

Ingredients:

For the marinara sauce:

¼ cup canola and olive oil mixture
2 cloves of garlic, battered
1 small yellow onion, sliced
3 teaspoons of kosher salt, divided
2 ½ cups tomato passata (preferably Mutti brand)
¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried basil
2 teaspoons of dried oregano

For the dough:

2 eggs, divided
½ cup of cold water
2 cups of flour plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup unsalted butter, diced

For the filling:

2 teaspoons of corn starch plus extra for dusting
½ cup of low-moisture mozzarella
¼ cup hot peppers
½ gallon of rapeseed oil for frying
Fine sea salt for garnish

Oil for frying

Manual:

Step 1: Make the sauce first.

Put the oil, garlic and onion in a small saucepan over medium heat and season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Fry for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the passata, pepper, basil and oregano. Bring the sauce to a boil, then bring to a boil and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Step 2: Next, prepare the dough.

While the sauce is cooking, whisk 1 egg, the water, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the flour and butter in a food processor, then pulse until the mixture is crumbly, with pieces of butter the size of small peas. Let the mixture of egg, water and salt flow in slowly while pulsing. As soon as the dough is combined, place on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

Cover the dough with plastic wr and flatten it into a square disc. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Make the filling. As soon as the sauce has cooled down a bit, put it in a blender and stir until smooth. Set aside half a cup of sauce to cool the filling completely.

To cut the mozzarella, dust a knife with cornstarch to prevent it from sticking. Cut it into small cubes or a brunoise and do the same with the hot peppers. Combine the mozzarella and hot peppers with the remaining 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a medium bowl, then add half a cup of chilled mixed tomato sauce. Fill a piping bag with the filling and place it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Step 4: Build the roles. On a floured surface, cut the dough into two equal portions and return one portion to the refrigerator until ready to use. Roll the first half of the dough into a 12 by 12 inch square (about 1 cm thick). Cut the square in half horizontally. Beat the remaining 1 egg, then use a pastry brush to brush the top half of the square with the egg detergent. Starting 1 inch from the edge of the dough, pour about 12-15 mounds of filling (1 teaspoon or so each) onto the bottom squares, leaving 1½ „between each mound and leaving a 1” circumference all around. Work quickly, carefully turning the top half of the dough evenly over the bottom and slicing around each pizza roll to create rectangles about 1 inch wide and 2 inches high. Remove any excess batter and pinch the edges to seal them.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Place the shaped buns on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Step 5: Fry rolls. Preheat the oil in a large saucepan or deep pan to 350 degrees. Fry the frozen buns in batches, about 3-5 minutes per batch, adjusting the heat as needed. Remove from the oil with a slotted metal spoon or spider and drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Sprinkle with fine sea salt immediately if you eat immediately and serve with the remaining sauce.

Step 6: Warm up. If you prepare the rolls in advance, let them cool, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze them overnight. To serve, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake for 6-8 minutes on a lightly greased, foil-lined baking sheet. Garnish with fine sea salt and serve with the remaining sauce.

Molly J. Smith is a photographer based in Portland, Oregon
Tested by Marisa Robertson-Textor