STUFFED SICILIAN BREAD

Stuffed Sicilian Bread image

Big hit at dinner parties. My Italian family loves this!

Provided by SerenaBloom

Time 46m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

1 large loaf crusty Italian bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
4 ounces shredded Romano cheese
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (6 ounce) can burgundy olives, drained
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained
½ cup large garlic-stuffed green olives, drained
2 (14 ounce) cans water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and cut into eighths
1 roasted red pepper, drained and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese, for topping

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Remove top of bread loaf to create a long boat-shaped loaf. Pull out much of the soft bread to form a shell inside the crust. Reserve chunks of bread and break into evenly sized medium pieces.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir shallots until softened, 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute. Transfer reserved bread pieces to skillet. Add salt and pepper. Cook and stir until bread has absorbed some of the olive oil, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place ricotta, mozzarella, 4 ounces Parmesan, and Romano cheeses in a mixing bowl. Add basil and parsley; mix well. Transfer bread mixture to bowl. Stir in burgundy olives, kalamata olives, green olives, artichoke hearts, and red pepper strips. Add a pinch of pepper. Mix well.
Place bread shell on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle inside with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Fill with the cheese mixture. Top with 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven until loaf begins to get crisp and filling is bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 564.4 calories, Carbohydrate 54 g, Cholesterol 43.3 mg, Fat 26.4 g, Fiber 5.4 g, Protein 26.9 g, SaturatedFat 9.8 g, Sodium 2078.1 mg, Sugar 2.3 g