Loaded Meat Hot Pockets with Asiago & Provolone
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Italian
- Cuisine: Dinner
Description
My BFF recently asked me to make a grown-up hot pocket recipe. My son loves hot pockets, so I get them periodically for lunch treats. I know one he likes has pepperoni and meatballs, so I figured that would be a good place to start.
Now, I know every time I make a tomato sauce, I talk about how all my sauces start with the same foundation. Blah blah blah. Well, here we go again.
There was no way I was going to make homemade hot pockets and then use a jarred marinara or pizza sauce. Frankly, I hate when food bloggers cheat that way. Don’t ask me to make this delicious pasta and then tell me to use jarred tomato sauce. I don’t need you to tell me to add jarred tomato sauce to pasta! So, no, I will never post a pasta or pizza or Italian recipe asking you to use jarred anything! If you want to save time, I won’t judge! Go ahead and buy a jar of marinara or pizza sauce. But, making homemade tomato sauce is definitely worth the effort!
I loaded these bad boys with hot sausage, pancetta, pepperoni, onions and peppers and surrounded the meat mixture with provolone and Asiago. I stuffed each pocket with as much stuffing as I could fit and still get it sealed. And woo boy, when these came out of the oven, they were steaming hot! We cut ours in half before eating to release the steam.
Hmmm, these were delicious! Great recipe request that turned out fantastic!
Eat these with your hands, or eat these with a fork. Either way, enjoy!
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
10 vine ripened tomatoes, cut in half
handful of fresh basil
8 garlic cloves
⅓ cup red wine
1 TB balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Hot Pockets
1 box of puff pastry, defrosted
2 hot sausage links, casing removed
8 oz. pancetta, cut into ¼” cubes (not the pre-sliced pancetta ~ ask your deli to cut you two or three ¼” slices)
2 oz pepperoni slices or hot soppressata, cut in half
½ a small onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
9 slices of provolone
8 oz Asiago cheese, shredded
1 large egg, whisked
Instructions
Make the Tomato Sauce
Preheat the oven to 375°
Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Throw on the garlic and basil. Bake for 1 hour.
When done, place the tomatoes, garlic, basil, red wine, and balsamic vinegar in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and let cool slightly before using. If making this ahead of time, place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Hot Pockets
Preheat the oven to 375°
Prepare two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the hot sausage, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks. After 3 minutes, add in the pancetta. Continue cooking until the sausage is cooked through and the pancetta is golden brown ~ about another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels, leaving any residual grease in the pan.
To the pan, add the onions and peppers, cooking for about 5 minutes, or until just starting to soften.
In a medium bowl, add the hot sausage, pancetta, pepperoni, onions and peppers. Add the tomato sauce in slowly, stirring with the meat until well-coated but not runny with the sauce. Set aside the remaining sauce to use for dipping, if desired.
On a lightly floured surface, slightly roll out the pastry sheets and cut each sheet into 9 equal squares. Roll each square into 4” squares.
Fold one piece of provolone and place on one square, leaving about ¼” of space around the rim. Take approximately one tablespoon of the meat mixture and place on top of the provolone. Take about one tablespoon of Asiago and place on top of the meat. Use the egg wash to paint the rim of the the puff pastry. Place a second square on top of the filling. Use a fork to pinch the two squares together. Coat the top lightly with egg wash. Place on the baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining 8 squares.
Cook both trays for 25 minutes, switching tray positions about halfway through to ensure even cooking.
Serve with a Caesar salad, if desired!
Careful, they’re hot! Cut them in half to let some steam out!
Enjoy!
Keywords: Hot Pockets, Loaded Meat Pockets, Calzones, Stromboli
