Veggie Calzone

This is my all time favorite Italian food. It has bread, veggies, cheese-all in one neat package! What more could you ask for I say? It is like pocket pizza. And I L.O.V.E pizza and I am NOT ashamed to say, I will eat pizza from under the couch!
Here, I did not use store bought pizza dough but made it at home. It is really easy, trust me.

Pizza Dough recipe

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water- microwave a cup of water for a minute or so.
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 tbsp or more for dusting
• 
  

In a big bowl (plastic or glass), combine water, sugar and yeast. Stir gently and let it sit for about 5min, until foamy. DO NOT USE METAL objects like a stainless steel spoon or a bowl. Metal inhibits enzyme production. Yeast produces the enzyme Amylase, helping it rise.

Now add salt, olive oil, and about half of the flour and knead well. Now add the rest of the flour slowly and knead well into a ball. This dough should be elastic. Add some more olive oil if the dough is too dry or alternatively, add some flour if too wet. Knead for about 5 more minutes.

Lightly oil the same bowl and place the dough in it. Turn the dough to coat it with oil. Slightly cover it with a damp (NOT wet) kitchen towel and let it sit for an hour, until it doubles in size. This is a basic pizza dough recipe.

Notice the size of the dough now.

Cover loosely with a damp paper towel/kitchen towel.

Notice the size of the risen dough, after 1 hour.

Calzone – Roasted red pepper- -mushroom- feta cheese stuffing


Ingredients

• 2 roasted red peppers home made (recipe below) or store bought in a jar, diced
• 2 cups mushroom, chopped
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• Salt and pepper as needed
• Basil leaves, 4-5 chopped roughly
• 3-5 tbsp marinara/pasta sauce
  

1. Now, preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Divide the pizza dough into 4 portions and form a ball. Let them sit while you make the calzone filling..
3. Combine the roasted red peppers, mushroom, salt, pepper basil leaves, sauce and the cheese. Taste and adjust accordingly. The purpose of the sauce is to keep the filling moist nd not dry. So use accordingly.
4. Now roll it out into 6”-8” diameter circle, about ¼” thick. Do not roll it out too thin, the stuffing will leak out while baking.
5. Spoon in the stuffing, about 3 tsp or more. Do not over stuff. Fold the circle and crimp the edges shut with a fork.
6. Slit the top of the calzone with a knife to facilitate the steam to escape.
7. Bake for about 10-15min until well browned.
8. Serve with marinara sauce.





Roasted red peppers

Preheat the oven to 400F. Oil the outer surface of the red pepper well. Now place it in the middle rack of the oven and roast for about 30-35min, until the skin is black. Remove from oven, let it cool completely and peel the skin. You may cut the pepper in half, de seed it and use it right away or you may store it in a glass jar and refrigerate it

Variation:
For the stuffing, try the rocotta cheese-spinach filling that I have used for my manicotti recipe.