Calzone

Calzone are even easier than pizza to make at home. Pizza can be tricky to slide onto the pizza stone, but the calzone, little packages that they are, help to solve that problem.

Following the Silver Spoon cookbook recipe, I recently made calzone with ricotta, mozzarella, prosciutto and salami. The recipe isn’t available online, but they do offer the Fisherman’s Pizza recipe from the pizza section.

I admit that I cheated (again) and used Trader Joe’s pizza dough. It is simple enough to make, but we had company and I wanted to simplify the process. When I brushed the dough with oil, I added a little salt to the olive oil to help bring out the flavor in the dough.

Like with the pizza, the key to moving the calzone from the wooden paddle and then onto the pizza stone is using corn meal (polenta) underneath the calzone. As you are brushing oil on the dough, filling it, and then folding it over, periodically wiggle the paddle to make sure that it isn’t sticking. If it starts to stick (especially when you are pressing the edges to close the pocket), peel up the bottom and add some more corn meal.

The fun part is deciding what to put inside of your calzone. I went in the traditional direction of cured meats and cheeses, but you can choose anything. It is a great way to use small portions of leftovers like cooked spinach or sausage.

Tomorrow: simple spring marinara recipe to serve with your calzone.