Calzones | Eating in Andiland

Named for the french name of one of the fillings, arugula, these pizza pockets are a superb alternative to heavy, meaty alternatives. I have adapted this recipe from a Giada de Laurentiis recipe I saw a while back. They are a great addition to parties or a good family pleasure on a budget. I like to serve mine with a selection of basil pesto, meaty marinara, and spicy marinara. There are a couple of advantages to this meal: it can be thrown together pretty quickly if you have frozen turkey and pizza dough in the fridge; it is pretty healthy but also indulgent; it tastes great; you can make it on a but and under time restrictions (make the filling in advance); and, kids will love it.

Rocket Pockets (aka Turkey Arugula Pizza Pockets)

adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

One batch store-bought or prepared pizza dough
One pound ground Turkey
One tablespoon each: Ground Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Herbs de Provence
One to two teaspoons crushed red pepper
Two large shallots, minced
Four cloves garlic, minced
One-Half cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
One-Third Cup mozzarella or Fontina (optional)
Three-Fourths of a package of room temperature cream cheese (reduced fat is fine)
Salt
One egg, cracked and beaten
Basil pesto
Meaty Porcini Marinara

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to a thin 20 by 12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise. The cut each half into 8 equal rectangles. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium-sized, heavy skillet. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until glassy. Add the ground turkey and season with pepper, salt, herbs, and red pepper. Cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat, remove pan from burner and stir in the cheeses. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Brush pesto across the tops of the rectangles, leaving the outer half-inch plain. Spoon topping onto one side of each of the rectangles. Brush the edges of the rectangle with egg wash. Close the rectangle of pizza dough over the topping. Use a fork to seal and crimp the edges. Place the pizza pockets onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each pizza pocket with egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauce of choice heat over low heat in a saucepan. Serve the hot pizza pockets with the meaty marinara and basil pesto alongside for dipping.

I am pretty sure this Calzone is THE reason why you should experiment with food. This came about after I had made homemade pizzas and my sister was about to make enchiladas. Somehow, Aly and I came up with a plan to have an transcontinental enchilada pizza cook-off. I ended up making a calzone because it was what I felt like doing. It was fantastic and made more food than you can imagine – maybe next time I will make individual calzones. Either way – enchilada calzone is here to stay. This is very closely tied to my enchilada recipe (which unfortunately will not be going onto my blog because well – I want to be the only one besides my mom – and now Dalton – who knows the secret) and tastes just as good which is saying something. One tip – to save on time I generally buy my dough during the week and make it one the weekends if I plan on making pizzas. You can use Pillsbury Pizza Dough – I use this for other calzones or foccacia. If you have a favorite pizza place, I highly recommend buying the dough from there – they should sell it in ball form and all you have to do is roll it. If you live in Austin, buy your dough from Rounders. It is incredible and four bucks gets you a ridiculously large pie – I think the small is something like 14 inches.

Enchilada Calzone – serves at least 6

Pizza Dough (recipe is based on 14 in)
1.5 – 2 cups Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (any shredded chicken will do – if you have leftover breast – go for it)
Black Bean-Corn Salsa, about 1.5 cups plus more for servingGreen Chile Pork Enchilada Sauce
Sour cream, about 1/5 cup to one can sauce
2 cups Jack and Cheddar Cheese mixed

Serve with Brilliantly Garlicky Guac

Roll pizza dough into a triangular or half moon shape. Place half of dough onto cooking apparatus (ie stone or baking sheet) with other half hanging off.
Combine chicken, cheese, and salsa in a large bowl and mix well. Spoon some of the sauce onto the Calzone face. All over, cover the surface with a layer of the sauce. Then mix sour cream with remainder of sauce and mix into chicken mixture. Spoon chicken mixture onto one half of the calzone surface. Once finished, fold the empty portion of dough over the mixture and smush the edges together. If you want to make it pretty, you can go around the edges with a fork, mashing with the prongs to give it lines. Bake on 400 for about 20 minutes or until the dough looks finished. If possible bake on a pizza stone or a pizza maker with hole in the bottom (the latter is my preference as it gets the bottom of the crust crunchy as well).

Remove and sprinkle with a little extra shredded cheese. Serve with Guac.