Italian Calzone

6/19/13 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Many years ago my husband was a commercial food and equipment salesman up and down the California coastline. He sold massive amounts of food (and everything needed to prepare it) to hospitals, military bases, chain restaurants and tiny Marianne’s Italian Villa. Marianne’s was an Italian restaurant in a class by itself. Everything they served was fresh—every day. Soon they outgrew their location and asked Chuck to design them a new kitchen for a larger restaurant. He was delighted and in the enlarged space new generations were introduced to fabulous Italian fare.

Ralph (the owner and chef) was the son of an Italian mother and Irish father. Cooking Italian-style was his life. His kitchen was a well-oiled organization. He came in early and stayed late. to prepare everything from scratch: pizza dough, noodles, sausage, meatballs, sauces, and the best cheesecake in the world.

He and Chuck worked together so well they were like brothers. So, when our family went to dinner at Marianne’s, we learned to never order from the menu. We ate whatever Ralph decided to serve us. Caroline (the head waitress) would just tell him that the Kaiser family was in the house and the food would start coming. 

First came the antipasto platter of cold cuts, cheeses and peppers drizzled with homemade vinaigrette. Up next was usually calzone—one of our favorite dishes. It would be followed by a variety of pastas and Braciola (Italian beef rolls in tomato sauce). And then…dessert would arrive. Smooth ricotta stuffed cannoli shells or cheese cake.

Italian Calzone is basically a stuffed pizza or turnover. Ralph served it family style with a dipping marinara sauce. Until recently, I never made it at home because I have a history of yeast dough failures. But now, pizza yeast dough is easily made from fresh or frozen dough purchased from markets. I like to make the small, single serving size calzones filled with Italian sausage, spices and cheese.

The process is simplicity itself. While the dough is thawing and rising, prepare the meat filling and set it aside to cool. In a separate bowl, combine the cheeses and egg. Once all the filling ingredients are cool combine them and set aside. Then, thinly roll out the individual yeast rolls into circles on a floured surface. Add a few tablespoons of filling, fold, crimp edges, brush with egg and bake. Serve warm with marinara sauce.

The following recipe by Ree Drummond is as near as I can come to my replication of Ralph’s filling. There are a zillion other fillings but this is my favorite. A pepperoni mushroom alternative follows. I’ve also added a quick (5 ingredients) marinara recipe for you to try but use a bottled sauce if you like. Enjoy!

INDIVIDUAL CALZONES

Recipe by Ree Drummond

Whole frozen, dinner rolls (or) frozen bread loaves.

1 tablespoon butter

1 whole medium onion, diced

1 pound breakfast or Italian sausage

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

15 ounces, whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1-1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Marinara sauce, for serving

1 whole egg beaten

Preparation

Place frozen rolls (or frozen bread loaves) on a baking sheet to thaw. Cover with a tea towel and let thaw and rise for 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Add sausage and cook until brown, crumbling the sausage as you stir. Add Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a plate.

In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley. When sausage is cool, stir it in. Set aside.

When rolls are thawed and risen, roll them out on a lightly floured surface until paper thin. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons (approximately) filling onto half of the dough circle. Fold half of the dough over itself, then press edges to seal. Brush surface of calzone with beaten egg, then bake for 10-13 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Serve with warm marinara sauce.

CALZONE PEPPERONI FILLING

5 ounces sliced pepperoni

1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded

1 egg, beaten

1/4 teaspoon each: oregano, crushed red pepper, salt

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 475° F.

Prepare pizza dough for larger calzone: Use about 1/3 of each loaf for each calzone. Roll out 1/4” thick. Leave about an inch perimeter and layer on meat, vegetables and cheese. Fold the empty half of dough over toppings. It will make a half circle shape. Press the edges together firmly and slice 4-5 vents in the top of the calzone. Brush beaten egg over the top and sprinkle with seasonings and Parmesan cheese.

Place in hot oven and bake 12-18 min. Cover with foil if it browns too quickly. Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 min. Slice and serve with marinara sauce.

QUICK MARINARA SAUCE

1 28 ounce can tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon Italian seasonings (or more

1-2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20-30 min. Cool to lukewarm. Puree in a blender or food processor.  Reheat if desired.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes

 that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.