Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Kitchen Clearing Calzones

Kitchen Clearing Calzone

Last week I was looking through my freezer and refrigerator at things I needed to use up. I am supposedly about to start a cleanse (I keep pushing the date back) and also, with summer approaching, I want to make some room in my freezer for the most excellent produce of the year. I found a few balls of pizza dough so I thawed one out. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it, but I noticed that a bunch of people in the food blogosphere last week made calzones and they sounded so good, that I wanted to make one too. I found a couple of links of some spicy chicken sausage from the farmers market and I had some leftover spinach and most of an onion. I used a hodge-podge of leftover cheeses to use up what I had on hand. I made sure to pile the filling high because as suspected, it cooks down a bit in the oven. While this is an easy recipe, it took some time since I had to let the sausage mixture cool. I think it is more than acceptable to make that mixture in advance so you have it ready for a weeknight meal. The calzones were so good. The spicy sausage was such a nice contrast to the sweet onion and the roasted garlic tomato sauce (from a jar) provided so much flavor as well. Even though I used a mix of cheeses, there wasn't too much on each calzone so I didn't feel weighed down after eating one. I don't know about you, but I think pizza (and now calzones) are a perfect food for a movie night. I suggest you try it!

Kitchen Clearing Calzones

Kitchen Clearing Calzones
(By Esi)

1 ball rosemary whole-wheat pizza dough at room temperature
1 small red onion, diced
1-2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 spicy chicken sausage links, split open and crumbled
6 tablespoons roasted garlic tomato sauce (or your favorite tomato sauce)
Shredded cheese (I used a combination of mozzarella, 3-cheese, and Gruyere)
Baby spinach leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions have softened about 5-7 minutes. Add the sausage and cook through. Stir in the tomato sauce until it has warmed through. Set the mixture aside to cool.

Split the dough into two small rounds Roll each round to about 6 inches in diameter. Top half of each round with a few spinach leaves and then a few heaping spoonfuls of the sausage mixture. Top with cheese and fold the dough over and cinch to close.

Brush the top of each calzone with a bit of olive oil and make a few slits so that steam can escape. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

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19 comments:

Pearl said...

oh that looks delish! like a pizza - but cooler :)

Erica said...

I'm a huge calzone fan and these look great! I love how you can throw whatever you're in the mood for into them and the finished product is deliciousness! Great job on the freezer/fridge cleanup!

Heather said...

mmmm. i love calzones. this one sounds delicious :)

Lo said...

I love a good calzone. And a dish that helps me clean out the fridge is even better. This looks absolutely scrumptious!

(We've been putting off our spring cleanse too... gotta stop! it's going to be summer soon!)

unconfidentialcook said...

These look wonderful. Love calzones--and I make little ones for my daughter's lunches.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I've never made calzones. They are so nice.

Diana said...

Look at you using up what you have! I'm so impressed! :)

You know what I just realized? I don't think I've ever had a calzone! Yikes!

The Food Librarian said...

No cleanse because that would mean no food! :) (Do whatever you want, but we would miss you if you aren't eating...) This looks great!

The Blonde Duck said...

All I can do is drool in envy...

Creative Classroom Core said...

DELICIOUS! These look great - and the presentation is very cool :)

What a great way to clean out the fridge and freezer :)

Esi said...

Thank you lovely people!

Lo,so far, tomorrow is the start date, we'll see if I can stick to it.

Diana, the next time you are at Mozza, roll up your pizza and you basically will have a calzone :)

Mary, I am actually going to be eating on this cleanse so I hope to be able to share the experience...unless I only last a day...then it will be back to business as usual!

Kerstin said...

They look wonderful! Yay for cleaning out the fridge/freezer! We should do that soon too...

Reeni said...

I think calzones are perfect for movie night!! Especially with this filling!

angela@spinachtiger said...

You had me at the rosemary ww pizza dough.

Kana said...

Good for you Esi - you got in some cleaning AND making beautiful calzones!

Donna-FFW said...

I cant believe how you make even your leftovers into such a masterpiece.. amazing cook are you!!

Unknown said...

yummmmm, i still have yet to make my own pizza... too many things to make, not enough time :)

Madeline said...

Calzones are perfect for clearing out the fridge. I usually make a few extras so we have leftovers for lunch the next day. They're convenient for taking to work and oh so good!

tons of land said...

oh yum. that looks fantastic. nice pics btw.