Youngest texted me from school the other day asking if we could have calzones for dinner. I haven’t made them in ages somehow! I had everything I needed but the ricotta cheese so picked that up when I was out running other errands. You could do without of course. Sometimes I just make them with the cheese filling, sometimes with veggies and cheese. She’s packing her lunch for school every day and I know the leftovers will get eaten up readily, as they make a great lunch. Or you could freeze any leftovers.
I halved this recipe for pizza dough to start. While it was rising, I made fresh tomato sauce since my Roma tomatoes are in finally!
Calzones with Fresh Tomato Sauce
You can make these with cheese filling or vegetables and cheese or meat and cheese. Whatever’s good on a pizza! They make a great lunch or you can freeze any leftovers.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 Tbs honey
- 1 cup lukewarm water (more if needed)
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 4 cups flour plus extra for kneading
- 1 Tbs salt
Fresh Tomato Sauce
- 1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 4 Tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut in strips
Ricotta Filling
- 2 cups ricotta cheese, drained if needed
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- some minced garlic optional, I left it out this time since I had garlic in the sauce
- 1 cup chopped pepperoni or vegetables or ham or whatever
Instructions
Dough
- Mix the yeast with 1 cup of lukewarm water and honey and let it sit while you measure out the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and hook up your dough hook.
- Give a quick stir to distribute the salt evenly, then pour in the yeast and water mix until the bowl is being cleaned basically (all the flour incorporated). You might need a bit more water. Knead about 5 minutes, either in your mixer or by hand.
- Place in a bowl and make a few slits in the dough with a sharp knife and put in a warm window sill or other place, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in volume. Depending on weather and how warm your house is this could take an hour or two. If your house is chilly, you can turn the oven on for just a minute to warm it up, then turn it off and place the dough in there with the oven light on.
FRESH TOMATO SAUCE
- Heat the oil while you’re chopping the tomatoes and heat the garlic over medium low heat, stirring now and then. You could skin the tomatoes ahead of time by blanching in boiling water or just added the chopped tomatoes, skin and all, to the olive oil and cook about 10 minutes. Pick out any large skin pieces. Add the salt and basil, stir and taste. Add pepper if you’d like.
FOR THE FILLING:
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each into a circle about 6-8″ in diameter and let sit.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spoon 1/4 of the cheese mixture on to each circle of dough, one at a time.
- Wet the edges of the dough with water, then fold the dough in half to make a half circle. Pinch the edges together then fold the edges over to make a tight seal. Crimp with a fork or your fingers. Slash a few holes in the top with a fork or a sharp knife. Bake 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Serve with the heated tomato sauce on the side.
Note: If you want snack size portions, just make smaller ones. These freeze well.
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