Sausage, Spinach and Ricotta Calzone

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Cover and let rest on floured surface while preparing filling.
3. Cook sausage in skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through; remove from skillet and drain excess fat. Add spinach and water to skillet; saute 1 to 2 minutes until spinach is wilted; drain. Return sausage to pan.
4. Combine ricotta, mozzarella and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in Italian herb seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic salt; set aside.
5. To make calzones divide dough into four portions. Roll 1 portion into an 8-inch circle on a floured surface. Spread approximately 1/3 cup ricotta mixture in center bottom half of dough. Top with heaping 1/3 cup sausage spinach mixture leaving outer 1/2-inch free of filling. Fold top half of dough over filling. Pull edge of lower crust over top; folding and pressing layers together to form a seal. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Cut 3 to 4 vents in top. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack to keep bottom crust crisp while cooling slightly. Serve with pizza sauce or other sauce for dipping.

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Reviews (11)

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18

ahmom

Apr. 11, 2011

"Don't listen to the person who said there were so many technical errors. It was the perfect amount for the 4 of us. Not all flour has the same moisture content so 1 1/2 cups could work for some. You s..." See morehouldn't blame someone because you had to throw out some filling. You could have turned it into something else. It was an excellent recipe."

18

sandy

Oct. 20, 2010

"I used the food processor pizza dough recipe from American Test Kitchen's cook book. I also used 1 lb of ricotta because I wanted to use it up and only 3 links of hot Italian sausage which I browned ..." See morethen gave a quick whirl in my food processor with the spinach and ricotta. I keep a small container of extra virgin olive oil with a garlic clove in it for flavor that I use to brush pizza dough and calzones with before they go into the oven. I also put slashes on top of calzones to allow the moisture in riccota to vent other wise they may explode which I've had happen. I bake them on my pizza stone and serve with a home made pizza sauce from another site. This was a huge hit."

17

jenmshaw

Jan. 5, 2011

"This recipe is great! I did change things up, just a tad. When I sauted the spinach, I added a couple tablespoons of minced garlic. Instead of sausage, I used pepperoni. Since the pepperoni was al..." See moreready cooked, I just used a Tbsp of EVOO to the pan, spinach w/garlic and then added the water. I then drained the liquid and added the pepperoni. Also, once I made the slits on the top, I lightly buttered the top and sprinkled some parm cheese. Even my picky, pizaa loving husband enjoyed this."