The Best Calzone Recipe

September 19, 2008

These really are the best calzones I’ve ever eaten. They have a pretty normal list of ingredients, but the combination of fresh bread, the mixture of cheese, and whatever delicious fillings you choose cannot be beaten.

For this recipe, you’ll need a batch of basic pizza dough, fully risen, two cups of ricotta cheese, one cup of chopped/grated mozzarella, one cup of grated Parmesan (good Parmesan really helps here), salt, pepper, and your choice of fillings. For my calzones, I used a chopped yellow onion, a red bell pepper, and one link of Mexican chorizo.

Begin by dividing your dough into two pieces on a floured surface, knead them for a few seconds, then form them into balls. You’ll want to let them rest like this, covered by a towel, for about 20 minutes. Also, strain your ricotta cheese to remove excess moisture – it keeps the inside of your calzone from getting soggy. Either let it drain in a fine mesh strainer, or lay a paper towel across the bottom of a colander and pour in the cheese, as I did. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Now, prepare your filling ingredients in whatever way you need to. For me, this meant sautéing the onion, pepper, and chorizo (removed from its casing). I think precooking these filling ingredients was a good idea, but if you are using a filling like prosciutto or pepperoni, you shouldn’t need to.

Stir together all three cheeses with the filling ingredients, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Once your dough has rested for about 20 minutes, you need to roll out each piece into an 8 – 10″ circle. The key is to getting them an even thickness across, which can be difficult, but you don’t want the filling to burst from the calzone while cooking. It helps to let the dough rest for a few minutes after you flatten it out the first time.

When you have your rounds ready, transfer them to a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, or onto a pizza peel if you have a baking stone in the oven. Add half the filling onto each round, trying to keep the filling on one half of each circle.  Moisten the edges of the dough, then fold over the empty half to enclose the filling. Press the edges together.

Finally, just slide the calzones into the oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes. Serve with a side of pizza sauce if you want, but it’s not necessary for these.

Tips

• The cheese mixture is the key ingredient. The ricotta and mozzarella give it the right texture, and the Parmesan gives it a great flavor. It really helps to use a good Parmesan if you have it.
• The onion, red pepper and chorizo made excellent filling ingredients, but feel free to substitute based on your preferences.
• This recipe makes two huge calzones, which is enough to feed four people.
• The calzones are really good as leftovers too, so don’t hesitate to make the full recipe for two people.
• My cheese amounts were estimates – I just used one of the 15 oz (I think) tubs of ricotta, then about a cup of Mozzarella, and maybe a little less than a cup of Parmesan.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• One batch of pizza dough
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 cup chopped/grated Mozzarella
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• Salt and pepper
• Your choice of filling ingredients: onion, pepper, choriza, ham, prosciutto, spinach, etc.

Recipe:

1. Knead your dough on a floured surface for a few seconds, divide it into two pieces, form them into balls, and let them rest for 20 minutes under a towel.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
3. Drain your ricotta in a fine mesh strainer (or paper towel lined colander) for 10 minutes.
4. Prepare the filling ingredients if pre-cooking is needed (i.e. saute the onion and pepper).
5. Mix the three cheeses and your filling ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Roll out your dough balls into 8 – 10″ circles with an even thickness. Letting them rest for a few minutes after first rolling them out will make it easier. Transfer the rounds to a piece of parchment paper.
7. Add half the filling to each piece of dough. Maneuver the filling onto half of the dough, moisten the edges of each round with water, then fold over the empty half of dough to enclose the filling. Press the edges closed.
8. Bake the calzones on a cooking sheet or baking stone for 30 – 40 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

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