Ingredients:
- 10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 8 oz. (1 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- (I added chicken sausage. Trader Joe's has an excellent 4-pack of sun-dried tomato and basil chicken sausage. I only used two of the four. There is minimal fat in chicken sausage so you don't have to drain fat before adding to the calzone mix.)
- 1½ tsp. minced fresh oregano (I did not use because of the herbs in the sausage.)
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 lb. pizza dough (Use Trader Joe's pizza dough; it's perfect!!)
- 1 large egg lightly beaten with 2 tbsp. water, for egg wash
- pizza sauce, for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 500˚ F. In a bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, olive oil, egg yolk, garlic, cooked chicken sausage, optional oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir well until evenly combined.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 9-inch round. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
- Carefully transfer the dough rounds to a large piece of parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spread half of the spinach filling over half of each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border at the edge. Brush the edge with the egg wash. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling. Press the edges of the dough together and crimp to seal.
Using a sharp knife, cut 5 steam vents in the top of the each calzone. Brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Transfer the calzones to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm with pizza sauce.
Notes:
I had a lot of filling left over, probably because my dough rounds were difficult to roll to 9 inches. Next time, I will buy two bags of pizza dough so my filling doesn't go to waste. - *www.annies-eats.com