Have Some Fun with a Veggie Calzone for One!

Stemming from my Italian roots, I enjoy making calzones. Like pizza, you can put just about anything inside a calzone and create a yummy healthy concoction! I made my calzone with homemade dough using a KitchenAid mixer, but you can grab a dough ball at the grocery store too. Here’s a recipe with olive oil, fresh spinach, sauteed red peppers, garlic, onion and some ricotta cheese to amp up your veggie and healthy fat intake for the day.

Italian Veggie & Ricotta Calzone

Ingredients

Homemade Dough – Enough for 2 individual size calzones

1 cup warm water
1 package of active dry yeast
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Calzone filling

Fresh spinach
1 red pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 Vidalia onion
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
salt and pepper

1) Dissolve the packet of yeast in the warm water, then add olive oil and salt.

2) Add 1 and 1/2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl and put your KitchenAid mixer on speed 2. The flour will begin to mix with the other ingredients. As the mixture starts to thicken and become doughy, add the remaining 1 cup of flour to the mix. The dough will begin to stick the the hook and form into a ball.

3) Place your fresh dough ball on a sheet pan, divide into two even sections, brush the top and bottom with olive oil, and cover tightly in plastic. Let the dough rise for about 2 hours (it will have just about doubled in size).

BEFORE

AFTER

4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees, then cook the spinach according to package instructions and saute the garlic, onion and pepper in some olive oil until roasted.

5) Flatten the dough and spread ricotta cheese on one side, leaving 1 inch from the edge of the “crust.” Add cooked spinach, pepper, garlic and onion mix, then top with another spoonful of ricotta. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, then fold your calzone so that the ends meet, but be careful not to stretch the dough too thin or you might rip it! Roll the edges in so that you create a tight pocket.

6) Brush the calzone with some olive oil and pop in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. The top and edges should turn golden brown. Allow your calzone to cool slightly before cutting so that your ingredients inside have a little time to set and don’t fall out!