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King of Calzones
The original Italian hot pocket, the calzone was popularized by street venders in 18th century Naples as a pizza-on-the-go. Our ultimate King of Calzones starts with the Perfect Pizza Dough, slow-fermented overnight for extra sweetness and moisture, loaded up with ricotta and cheddar, fresh broccoli, caramelized onions, garlic and red peppers (and a dash of sriracha if you like some spice) but any filling will taste amazing folded over in a bubbly cheese crust. The key is to cook onions and peppers thoroughly; you don’t want too much excess moisture or the crust will come out soggy.
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 14 ounces Perfect Pizza Dough
- Tbsp butter, sunflower oil, or whatever cooking fat you prefer
- 1 large onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-wide rounds
- 1 bell pepper
- 3 ounces broccoli florets, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 6 whole peeled garlic cloves, gently smashed
- 8 ounces shredded melting cheese (cheddar, gouda, gruyere, jack, provolone, etc)
- 12 ounces ricotta
- 12 ounces ground beef
- Salt
- Pepper
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- 5 tbsp sriracha (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare you pizza dough the day before.
- Sauté onion, pepper and garlic for 10 minutes. You can add the sriracha year to make it extra spicy and saucy.
- Season to taste with chili powder, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Place under the broiler at 450° for 90 minutes with the rack on the highest setting. (This step is very important. If vegetables are undercooked there will be too much moisture and the calzone will be soggy).
- While vegetables broil, prepare the dough. Start by working it into an 8-ounce round.
- Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Stretch or pat into a 12-inch round (dusting with flour as needed).
- Cover and leave for 20 minutes to rest; repeat steps 7-8 three times).
- Stretch lengthwise into a 14-15-inch by 10-11-inch oval.
- Grate 3-4 ounces melting cheese over the dough.
- Spread ricotta over one half (the half closest to you).
- Sprinkle on a dash of salt and pepper.
- Add a layer of ground beef and a layer of broccoli. Salt the broccoli.
- Top off with roasted onions, peppers, and garlic.
- Fold dough over filling and crimp edges thoroughly.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: recipes
- Cuisine: Italian