Calzoni - Vegetarian Folded Pizza
Calzoni are folded pizzas making a semi circle filled with all your pizza favourites but cooked in steam in the middle increasing flavour and of course you can pick them up and eat them like a Cornish pasty, like they do on the streets of Italy - the perfect picnic or take away food.
Preparation time: 30 minutes or so Quantity: Makes 4 - 6 Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
Calzoni dough -
450g/ 1lb/ 16 oz strong flour (or plain) -sifted
1 x 6/7g sachets dried yeast
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
300 ml/ 10 fl oz luke warm water
Tomato Sauce -
1 tin plum tomatoes
1 tin water (filled from above tin)
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 large onion - chopped
2 sticks celery - chopped
1 red pepper - diced
2 tablespoon tomato puree
seasoning
Fillings -
1 red onion - sliced
2 plum tomatoes - sliced
1/2 red pepper - sliced
1 buffalo mozzarella ball - sliced
4 button mushrooms - sliced
60g / 2 oz grated cheese (any)
Method
Stage One -
- Place all the dry ingredients (except water) in a large bowl
- Add the warm water - use 100 ml of fresh boiled water and top with 200 ml of water from the cold tap to get the right temperature
- Mix by hand or with a fork to form a dough
- Knead for 10 minutes
- Leave in a bowl covered with a damp towel somewhere warm to prove (rise and double in size) - like an airing cupboard or on a high shelf above an oven (approx. 40 minutes)
- (Take this time to make the tomato sauce)
- Knock back and knead again for 2 - 3 minutes
- Divide in to 4 -6 balls and roll out each one on a floured board to make a circle the size of a small main dinner plate
Stage Two -
- Place all the ingredients for the tomato sauce except the puree and the herbs in a large saucepan
- Bring to the boil and then simmer for 25- 30 minutes
- Blend till smooth
- Stir in the puree and herbs (op)
- Taste and correct the seasoning (this will make more than you need but will keep in the fridge for a week or freeze for 3 months)
Stage Three -
- Prepare the ingredients for the filling -
- But basically you can use anything you like - try courgettes, cooked aubergines, asparagus, nuts, beans, vegetable chilli, artichoke, cactus, broccoli florets, chilli peppers, wild mushrooms etc.
Stage Four -
Assembly
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of tomato puree in the middle of each Calzoni dough circle
- Sprinkle on your filling
- Fold over the pizza to form a semi circle
- Push down the sides to seal
- Drizzle with olive oil
- Top with a little grated cheese (op)
- Place on a greased tray and place in a preheated oven gas 6 - 7/ 210-220*c / 425-450*f on a middle shelf for 15 minutes or until golden and the base firm