Welcome to the recipe section of Road Trip Three! Substack lets me create a “section” which has its’ own subscription and posts, so this recipe is a test for how that will look. This recipe first appeared in this post. I hate when recipe sites go on and on about the origins of their recipes, so you will not find any of that here! Let’s get to the recipe!
Pizza Dough: I mix all of this in advance and place it in a gallon-size ziploc bag. The dough will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge or a cooler.
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
Toppings: I cook the onion, bell pepper, and meat in advance. I’ve kept all three in separate baggies and I’ve mixed them all together into one baggie. My preference is mixing them together because scooping one topping is easier than taking scoops from three different bags.
1 can of tomato sauce
1 onion, sautéed
1 bell pepper, sautéed
1 pound of ground meat, cooked (I used jalapeño breakfast sausage here, but ground beef would also work.)
4 ounces of cheese (I’ve used mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack…any meltable cheese will work!)
Assembly:
Take a fist-sized piece of dough and press it into a circle on a paper plate or wax paper.
Spread tomato sauce over the entire crust.
Spread the topping mixture and some cheese shreds on half of the crust, leaving space around the edge.
Pick up the empty half of the crust and fold it over the side with the toppings.
Pinch and roll the dough along the open side to seal the toppings inside.
Cooking the Calzones:
Pour enough olive oil in a cast iron pan to just barely cover the bottom of the pan.
Heat on medium high.
When the oil sizzles with a sprinkle of water, the pan is hot enough.
Carefully transfer the calzone from the plate to the pan and cover with a lid.
There should be enough time now to prep the next calzone while one is cooking.
Cook until the bottom is brown, then flip the calzone over and cover again.
The second side doesn’t seem to take quite as long, but don’t take it off the heat too early or the dough could end up…doughy. You want it to have a nice crusty brown look.
Remove the calzone from the pan and have the next one ready to go into the pan.
Cut in half and enjoy!
Repeat for all of the calzones.
This recipe will make six big calzones!
Let me know if you have any questions!