Getting in the (Cal) Zone

Me too, Ben. Me too. 

One of my most favorite flavor combos in the entire world is Caprese: mozzarella, basil, and tomato. I was having a massive craving, so I flipped through Moosewood and found the calzone recipe. Originally, this recipe calls for a spinach ricotta filling (which is also delicious) but it included a list of additional filling options, one of which was a caprese. I literally could not stop thinking about it, so I ran out to the grocery store after class and picked up all the ingredients necessary. I'm also making Moosewood's pesto.

Deconstructed

The calzone dough is incredibly simple, and just requires time to rise. It did take kind of a weirdly long time to rise. I might've made it a bit too wet because I was trying to half the recipe, so my calculations were probably a bit off. But I got there eventually. Similarly, the pesto is basically just a couple spurts with the blender. Then, all I had to do was assemble and bake. I spread some of the pesto along the dough, then topped it off with mozzarella and tomato slices and crush red pepper flakes. 

I decided to add spinach to my calzone filling because I had some leftover from the green salad dressing. I knew it would only add some substance and deliciousness to the calzone. I just quickly wilted it with some garlic and olive oil.

Maybe I should've called them
"baked sandwiches"??

The assembly process was very similar to the samosas. And I was equally bad at it. There must be an art to determining how much you need to fill the dough. An art at which I fail epically. But as I've said so many times before, aesthetics are not my strong suit. Taste however, usually is. 

I ate the calzone with a salad, which was very yummy. Great way to end a busy Wednesday!