Calzonesspeedy Sausage And Ricotta Calzones Recipes

SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Brown sausage in a small skillet in a drizzle of olive oil. Transfer the cooked crumbled sausage to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
• Combine sausage with ricotta, parsley, garlic, Parmigiano, nutmeg, pepper, and pimento. Roll out doughs and halve cross-wise. Place a dough rectangle on a nonstick cookie sheet. Use 1/2 cup mozzarella on half of each dough rectangle and pile a mound of filling on half of the total area. Fold dough over and pinch edges to seal. The result is a rectangular turnover.
• For half-moon shaped calzones, trim excess dough. Roll dough bits into strips, tie in knots and brush with garlic oil and cheese. Garlic knots are fun to dip at the table.
• Bake calzones 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve calzones with warm tomato, marinara, or pizza sauce for dipping.
• Cook's Note: For an additional time saver, 2 packages precooked sausage crumbles, 8 ounces each, may be substituted for raw Italian sausage used in the above recipe.
• Add olive oil to medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper to the heated olive oil; when pepper snaps and garlic sizzles, stir in crushed tomatoes. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley. Serve.
• Yield: 4 servings

SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND RICOTTA CALZONE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• 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.
• 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.
• Combine ricotta, mozzarella and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in Italian herb seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic salt; set aside.
• 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.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE CALZONE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Crumble sausage into large skillet sprayed with cooking spray; cook until evenly browned, stirring frequently. Drain.
• Unroll pizza dough onto 12-inch pizza pan sprayed with cooking spray; press dough to evenly cover bottom of pan.
• Spread ricotta onto half the dough to within 1 inch of edge; top ricotta with pasta sauce, shredded cheese and sausage. Fold dough in half to enclose filling. Press edges together to seal. Brush dough with milk; sprinkle with Parmesan. Cut slits in top to vent steam.
• Bake 20 min. or until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, heat remaining pasta sauce as directed on label.
• Cut calzone into slices.

SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA CALZONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Divide pizza dough into 8 pieces. Roll out each into 8-inch round disk.
• To make filling, in 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. Add spinach; continue to cook about 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Remove from heat; set aside.
• In large bowl, mix cooked sausage, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, nutmeg, pepper and onion-spinach mixture.
• To make each calzone, place filling in center of dough round. (Resist the temptation to overfill the dough.) Fold dough over; press edge and twist to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut calzones in half to serve.

PROSCUITTO AND RICOTTA CALZONE

Steps:

• For dough: Stir together flour and salt in 2 quart mixing bowl. Make a well in center. In separate bowl, whisk together water and yeast, then 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir the liquid mixture into the well in the flour and stir with a rubber spatula to form a soft, sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead gently. If it is very sticky, scrape it off the surface with a spatula or plastic scraper. Do not add more flour or it will produce a tough dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and only slightly sticky. Rinse and dry the mixing bowl and spread remaining tablespoon of oil all around the inside. Form dough into a ball and place back in greased bowl, turning so that the top surface of the dough gets oiled. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• For filling: Place ricotta in mixing bowl and stir in other ingredients, in the order listed. Taste mixture, and if it seems excessively bland, stir in a few pinches of salt, but not too much. Remember, the sausage or prosciutto is salty. Set a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. To shape calzone, generously flour work surface and scrape the risen dough from the bowl, in one piece, onto the work surface. Fold dough over on itself from the outside edge in, all around, shaping it into an even ball. Cover dough with a towel and let rest on work surface for 5 minutes. Flour dough and press it with the palms of your hands to form an even disk. With a rolling pin, roll out dough until it is about 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick. Add pinches of flour to the work surface and to the dough as necessary to keep it from sticking to the surface or to the rolling pin. If the dough resists being rolled, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before continuing.
• Fold the disk loosely in half and transfer it to the pan. Unfold dough and spread the filling over half of it, leaving about 1-inch of uncovered dough around the edges. Brush dough border with water, fold the unfilled dough back over filling, and crimp edges together in overlapping folds to seal. Slash top of the calzone in several places to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough is baked through and has turned a deep golden color. Serve hot from oven or at room temperature. Wrap any leftover calzone in plastic or foil and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature or rewarm in a 375 degree F. oven for 10 minutes before serving.

SPINACH, RICOTTA AND SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• Cook spinach as directed on box; allow to sit a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Squeeze cooked spinach between paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place spinach in large bowl. Add sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan and the Italian seasoning to bowl; stir until well combined.
• Divide pizza dough into 8 balls. Roll and press each ball into a circle 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Place meat mixture onto one half of each of the balls, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Fold dough over filling; pinch and roll edges to seal in filling.
• Transfer to cookie sheet. Brush tops of calzones with egg. Prick tops of calzones with fork to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until dough is golden brown, topping with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese during last 3 minutes of baking. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet. Serve warm with pizza sauce.
• Freezer Directions: Make as directed through step 3. Place on cookie sheet, and freeze about 4 hours or until firm. Place frozen calzones in resealable plastic freezer bag, and freeze. When ready to cook, place calzones on cookie sheet, and brush with egg. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown, topping with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan during last 3 minutes of baking. Serve with pizza sauce.