Calzones

In my last post about Mini Pizzas I had mentioned that I used half the pizza dough to make two fully loaded calzones.

The recipe for the Calzones is from the book “The best ever Vegetarian Cookbook" by Linda Fraser.I used the delicious and surprisingly tasty Eggplant filling as a topping for one of the pizzas too.

Here's the recipe for the pizza dough and the calzones.

You will need:

For the dough:

1 packet (7g/ ¼ oz) active dry yeast
2 ½ to 3 cups All purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm water (110 F)

For the filling:

4 Baby eggplants cubed
3 Shallots chopped
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Crushed red pepper
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
10 Sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 Garlic clove chopped

Shredded Mozarella
1-2 tbsp Shredded Parmesan

The method to make the Pizza dough can be found here.

Prepare filling -- Heat oil in a pan. Add shallots and fry till soft. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, garlic, thyme, crushed pepper, salt and black pepper. Saute for a a few seconds. Now add the cubed eggplant and sauté till soft. Turn off heat and let cool a little.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and form into 2 balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into 2 8-inch circles

Place eggplant shallot tomato filling in the center of one side of each circle, top with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella then fold dough over filling to meet edges of filled side. Crimp edges with a fork or your fingers, then cut a small slit on the top of the calzone to allow steam to escape while cooking. Bake for 8-10 minutes till light brown. Remove from the oven and brush calzones with a layer of olive oil. Sprinkle shredded parmesan on top and serve immediately.

Since these Calzones were so big, they lasted me a good two days! :-D They just got better and better!!

Mini Pizzas

I've made Pizza dough once before and it turned out great. I decided to make it again, but this time used half of it to make Calzones and other half to make Mini Pizzas. Given here is the recipe for the pizza dough and mini pizzas.

You will need:

For the dough:
1 packet (7g/ ¼ oz) active dry yeast
2 ½ to 3 cups All purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Warm water (110 F)

For the filling:
4 Baby eggplants cubed
3 Shallots chopped
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Crushed red pepper
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
10 Sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 Garlic clove chopped

The method to make the Pizza dough can be found here.

Prepare filling -- Heat oil in a pan. Add shallots and fry till soft. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes, garlic, thyme, crushed pepper, salt and black pepper. Saute for a a few seconds. Now add the cubed eggplant and sauté till soft. Turn off heat and let cool a little.

Preheat oven to 450F.

I used half of the pizza dough to make 3 mini Pizzas and the other half to make 2 big calzones. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and freeze one half if not using immediately.

Mini Pizzas

Tomato and Basil Pizza

Cheese Pizza

Eggplant Pizza

To assemble Pizzas you will need:

Marinara sauce
1 Tomato chopped
Egpplant filling (recipe above)
Chopped fresh Basil leaves
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
1 Cup Sharp Cheddar shredded
1 Cup Mexican blend (or any cheese of your choice)

Divide the other half of dough into 3 equal portions. Shape into round balls, place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll out into four 4-inch circles.

Poke the pizza circles with a fork in several places and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. This enhances the flavours you build on top. Now top each circle with marinara sauce. Spread evenly. Dot one with chopped tomatoes and basil leaves. Cover with shredded Mozarella. Dot another circle with the eggplant filling and cover with Mexican blend cheese. Top the last one with only cheddar cheese.

Pizzas are meant to please the palette with favourite flavours so feel free to add toppings of your choice. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes till cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve immediately.

I will share the recipe for the Calzones in my next post. Till then enjoy these Mini Pizzas!!