Spicy Spinach and Sausage Calzones
Use good quality store-bought dough and marinara to streamline the preparation of these savory turnovers.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough
- Cornmeal for dusting
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ pound fresh spicy Italian sausage casings removed
- 1½ cups ricotta
- ½ cup grated fontina cheese
- 1 egg
- Kosher salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Flour for dusting
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup warm marinara sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- ►Bring pizza dough to room temperature (cold dough is harder to work with)—about 30 minutes on the counter should do it.
- ►Heat oven to 450ºF and set a rack in the lower half of the oven. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal and set aside.
- ►Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it up as you go. Set aside.
- ►Combine ricotta, fontina, and egg in a medium bowl, and season with salt and pepper.
- ►Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered, roll dough into a ¼-inch-thick round on a floured surface. Place ¼ of the ricotta mixture, ¼ of the sausage, and ¼ of the spinach onto the bottom third of the dough, then fold dough over to secure the filling. Press the edges of the dough together to seal, trim off any excess, and crimp the edges. Transfer to the baking sheet and repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
- ►Bake until golden and crispy, about 30 minutes. Serve hot with warm marinara sauce, if desired.
Molly Shuster
Molly is a freelance food stylist, writer and recipe developer. She is one of the co-recipe editors of Gather Journal and has had her work published in various publications including Boston Magazine, Yankee Magazine, The New York Times, Food and Wine, Family Fun, The Boston Globe and Edible Vineyard, among others. Molly currently divides her time between New York and Boston.
