Sopressata Calzone

Ingredients

For Calzones:
• 1 cup Quick Tomato Sauce for Calzones (recipe follows) or your favorite jarred pizza/pasta sauce
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 8 ounces mixed sopressata, hot sopressata, Genoa salami, and/or pepperoni, chopped
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, drained
• 8 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel
Quick Tomato Sauce for Calzones:
• 1 3/4 c ups
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and pureed
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Calzones:
1. Place a pizza stone in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F. (Alternatively, place an upside-down rimmed baking sheet on the rack in your oven.)
2. Halve one of the pieces of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to form two 8-inch rounds. Spread ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom half of each round, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the basil and one-quarter of the cured meats evenly over each portion of sauce. Sprinkle one-quarter of the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and crushed red pepper over each portion of meat. Gently fold the top half of the dough over the filling, rolling and pressing the edges together with your fingertips to seal them, and crimping as you go along. Make 2 more calzones with the remaining ingredients.
3. Depending on the size of your oven, you may be able to bake only 2 calzones at a time. Cut several small slits in the top of each calzone to allow air to escape while baking, and transfer the calzones to a pizza peel that has been lightly dusted with flour or cornmeal (to facilitate moving the dough). Tilt the pizza peel to slide the calzones onto the preheated baking stone. Bake for 16 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the dough is cooked through. Remove the calzones from the oven with the pizza peel or a spatula, and serve immediately or at room temperature.
Quick Tomato Sauce:
4. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 3 minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes, thyme sprig, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the extra-virgin olive oil, discard the thyme sprig, and set aside until ready to use.

https://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/10/sopressata-calzone.html

Recipe courtesy of www.farmgirlgourmet.com. Reprinting without permission is unethical.