Ingredients
Fresh store-bought pizza dough or home-made pizza dough
For home-made pizza dough
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package traditional [Fieischmann's] dry yeast (8 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
For stuffing Version I
about 1/2 cup olive oil, divided into two parts
about 4 medium-sized yellow onions, sliced
about 4 red peppers, sliced
about 2 yellow peppers, sliced
about 2 teaspoons salt
about 1 teaspoon pepper
about 1 teaspoon hot red chilies (optional)
about 2 garlic cloves (optional)
For egg wash
2 tablespoons olive oil mixed with 2 tablespoons milk
For sprinkling
about 1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano
Alternative stuffing Version II
yellow onions, sliced and fried
garlic, finely chopped
spinach, cooked and chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon hot red chilies (optional)
1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano
Alternative stuffing Version III
about 8 yellow onions, sliced and caramelized
about 2 teaspoons salt
about 1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons red hot chilles (optional)
* makes 3 to 4 calzoni depending on their size
Directions
Store-bought yeast dough
Keep the dough in extra large clear plastic bag, tie with twists; place in a container with a lid.
Let the dough rest in a warm room until it doubles in volume (about 4 to 6 hours).
To make the yeast dough:
Add sugar to lukewarm water.
Add yeast to lukewarm water, and stir.
Let the water-sugar-yeast rest for about 6 minutes -- if bubbles form and the mixture increases in volume then the yeast is in good condition and ready to be used.
Add olive oil to the proofed yeast.
In a separate bowl mix the flour and salt together.
Add the olive oil and proofed yeast mixture to the salt and flour mixture. Mix well.
Work into a malleable soft dough, kneading for about 8 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball.
Place the dough ball in a very large clear plastic bag and tie it with a twist (Should have ample room to double in volume).
Put the dough in a bowl and cover.
Let the dough rest in a warm place until it doubles in volume -- about 4 to 6 hours.
To make the stuffing:
Slice the onions. Place in a bowl.
Slice the peppers and place in another bowl (Processing the onions and peppers separately will help retain their individual flavors).
Heat up 1/4 cup olive oil and fry the onions until they are a dark golden color (almost caramelized, but not quite). Drain excess oil.
In a separate frying pan heat up 1/4 cup olive oil and fry the peppers until soft but not browned. Drain excess oil.
Alternatively, if one is using a spinach stuffing one has to cook and drain the spinach, chop it, and then place in a bowl. One has to also fry the onions until golden brown, drain excess oil, and then place in another bowl (Do not mix onions and spinach together).
To make the calzoni:
When the dough has doubled in volume, remove from its container.
Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees.
Flour a pastry board.
Using a floured pastry roller, roll out the dough as thin as possible.
Using a plate, 5-inches in diameter for measurement, cut out a tiny pizza dough panel.
Place the cut dough on a well-greased baking pan or one lined with parchment paper (Processing one calzoni at one time will help ensure that the dough is fresh and easy to manipulate; also, by placing the pizza dough on the baking pan at the start of the operation will ensure that the dough doesn't get stuck to the pastry board or get stretched or any other way gets damaged.)
Top the dough with a portion of the fried onions, red and yellow onions (Alternatively, if one is using spinach, one places the onions, then the cooked and chopped spinach, and then a sprinkling of Parmesan.).
Once the vegetables used are placed on the tiny pizza rounds, take one side of the dough in one hand, and the other side in the other, and then bring the two together. Seal the top of two sides together, by pinching or crimping, making sure that the stuffing is nicely exposed on the sides (This is an open-faced calzoni, not a sealed one).
Brush the top and sides of the calzoni with a mixture of milk and olive oil (Diluting the oil with the milk makes the dough less greasy, but many double crusted pizzas are brushed with olive oil alone, so technically it can be done).
Sprinkle some Parmesan Reggiano on the top and sides of the calzoni (The cheese is used as much for flavor as for decorative purposes. Many calzoni don't look all that appetizing, though they do taste good. Decorating it with a bit of Parmesan upgrades it a little.)
Repeat the process until all the dough is used up.
Bake in a preheated 425 F degrees oven until golden brown -- about 20 minutes.
Serve warm.
Notes
Liking calzoni but finding the standard double-crusted varieties too starchy, I decided I would try out a calzoni-style that uses less dough. Imitating the look of some Middle-Eastern savory stuffed pastries, I didn't seal the calzoni in the traditional manner, but rather kept them half opened. To my delight this style worked (Well, it worked for me!). This style of calzoni is very easy to do, especially if one uses store-bought fresh pizza dough as I did (The pastry shop, "Italia, La Casa della Pizza" at 5540 Jean-Tale East has the best pizza dough in Montreal in my opinion). Loving caramelized onions, I used a lot in this recipe Loving red peppers (How can one not love red peppers?) I included a fair amount as well of this vegetable in making these non-traditional calzoni. Because red peppers (or yellow ones) are fairly expensive, I myself would only do this recipe when the peppers are in season. Green peppers are cheaper, and using them would decrease the cost but too much flavor would be sacrificed. If one wants to make a frugal version of this recipe, one can avoid the use of peppers altogether. One can use carmelized onions alone and the result would be quite fine. Add a few hot chilies and you get something really special. A spinach-stuffed calzoni can be special as well, but the problem is that it requires a lot of work (washing the spinach, cooking etc.). Also it's expensive. For those who don't mind the work and love the high nutritional value spinach gives any dish, using it in a calzoni stuffing is the thing to do. Personally, I would go for lots of caramelized onion and use spinach or red peppers for their decorative value. But that's me. As frugal as I am, in this recipe, because not a large amount is used, I would go with the expensive Parmesan Reggiano rather than the cheaper all-purpose Parmesan. Luckily, there is no reason to take this advice or any other advice given by this home cook. What's so wonderful about cooking in one's own kitchen is that one has the power to do as one pleases. Photo and comments: Mary Melfi. |
