Calzone - the Other Pizza

Calzones are half-moon turnovers consisting of dough (you can use pizza dough), filled with cheeses , typically ricotta and mozzarella and a variety of veggie and meat fillings. You can vary the ingredients to  come up with your own favorite.

This folded-over pizza is very easy to make, (just ask Grenville). Sure, we've had them when eating out, but never made them ourselves. It's also a great way to use up leftovers in the fridge.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 2 calzones

 

What We Used . . . 

• 1 lb. store-bought pizza dough, allowed to rise at room
  
  temperature (at least 30 minutes
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 package mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 package sliced pepperoni (optional)
• 1-1/4 C fresh ricotta cheese
• 1/2 C grated Parmesan-Romano cheese
• 1-1/2 C shredded mozzarella or Italian cheeses blend
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• cornmeal
• Homemade tomato (or store-bought) for serving

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, pepper and cook until softened, stirring occasionally,. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, stretch each dough ball out, and roll out. We didn't measure them, but tried not to have the dough too thick. (Grenville was the dough roller.)
3. Combine ricotta and other cheeses in a bowl. Combine veggies in another bowl season with herbs, salt and pepper, and mix well.
4. Assemble calzones by spreading half of veggie mixture and cheeses over one half of each piece of dough. Leave a border to fold over and form a half-moon. Brush water on edges of dough (water seals the dough seam) and crimp to seal shut using your fingers or a fork. Cut two slits in the top of each calzone to let off steam.
5. Use a wide metal spatula transfer calzones to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal; carefully reshape as needed. 
6. Brush the crust with an egg white wash or olive oil right before baking. Why? An egg white wash gives the calzone a satiny-like finish. Olive oil makes the crust browner and crisper. We used olive oil.
7. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pizza or marinara sauce.

We made 2 very large calzones, enough for leftovers — a very good thing.

Calzone Tips . . .

Use simple combinations for the fillings; leftovers are great.

Don't overfill cause this is where less is better. Too full and the calzone is likely to leak (like ours did).

Calzones need a longer cook time than pizza and a lower temperature to crisp the crust and penetrate the filling.