meat calzone Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Calzone, the perfect stuffed pizza folded over and baked, usually made as an individual serving and stuffed to perfection with various meats, vegetables and cheese, it’s the ultimate pizza pocket!

Start out with a pound of pizza dough, you can make your own or buy a good one, cut it into 4 equal pieces then let it rest to room temperature covered with a towel.

While your dough is resting you can get your filling ready, I like to use roasted veggies, always some spicy Italian sausage, precooked and sliced and a few different cheeses like fresh mozzarella, asiago and ricotta.

Oh, and some pretty green spinach and usually fresh basil I mix in with the ricotta.

Assemble your calzone with the ingredients of your choice, I made a vegetarian version and a meat one. Load your filling down the middle, not quite to the end, leaving some room for crimping. Take the top of the dough and fold it right over the filling to resemble a half moon, then crimp the edges.

Have your oven preheated to 400 degrees, then place the calzone on a baking sheet that has been brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with dry polenta or corn meal, doing this will ensure a nice crispy crust, and we like a nice crispy crust don’t we?
Make sure to brush the uncooked dough with olive oil, a little cracked pepper and a sprinkling of grated cheese before baking.

Bake for around 30 minutes or until a rich golden color develops. Warning! Your house will smell amazing!