Sausage and Bell Pepper Calzone
with Italian house salad
Is there anything better than warm, comforting Italian flavors all wrapped up in a delicious golden crust? You'll love these calzones with sausage and bell peppers served with a hearty Italian house salad on the side.
Smarts: Calzones are freezer-friendly - stash away leftovers or make some extra calzones to enjoy later.
Smarts: Calzones are freezer-friendly - stash away leftovers or make some extra calzones to enjoy later.
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Proteins
Cuisines
Ingredients
Sausage and Bell Pepper Calzone:
- Pizza dough - 1 lb
- Flour, all-purpose - 2 Tbsp
- Onions, medium - 1 , sliced
- Bell peppers, red - 1 , sliced
- Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped
- Eggs - 1
- Water - 2 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Sausage, Italian raw - 8 oz
- Thyme leaves - 1 tsp , leaves torn
- Cheese, shredded mozzarella - 4 oz
- Cheese, ricotta - 1/2 cup
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/4 tsp
- Tomato or marinara sauce - for serving (opt; if you want sauce for dipping calzones use homemade or store-bought)
Italian House Salad:
- Lettuce, romaine - 2 hearts , chopped (sub green leaf or iceberg)
- Tomatoes, medium - 1 , diced (sub half a cup cherry or grape tomatoes for each medium tomato)
- Black olives, sliced (2.25 oz / 63 g) - 1 can , drained and rinsed
- Mayonnaise - 1 Tbsp
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 2 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1/4 tsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
Prep
- Pizza dough - Divide dough in half (make 2 calzones for 4 servings; adjust if customizing), cover in flour, and let rest for at least 30 minutes outside of fridge before rolling out. This is tip #1 to good pizza / calzones - resting dough gives gluten time to chill out, which makes the dough much more pliable.
- Onions / Bell peppers / Garlic - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing with prep.) Prep as directed. Combine onions and bell peppers. Store garlic separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Lettuce / Tomatoes - Prep as directed.
- Olives - Drain and rinse.
- Make egg wash - Whisk eggs with water.
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C degrees with sheet pan inside.
- While oven is heating, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then onions and pepper. Saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add sausage. Saute, breaking sausage apart, until starting to brown.
- Continue to saute until sausage is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir in garlic and sprinkle thyme leaves over top. Saute for 1 minute more. Drain any excess oil / liquid from pan.
- Transfer onions, bell peppers, and sausage to a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes. Combine with mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and red pepper flakes.
- Watch this video to see how to assemble calzones. Roll each portion of pizza dough out into an oval shape (if you have a pizza paddle, do it on that, so you can easily ease the calzone onto a sheet pan). Divide the filling between prepared dough, leaving about a 3/4” / 2 cm edge.
- Brush the edges of calzones with egg wash, fold dough over the filling and crimp with a fork.
- Brush heated sheet pan with some oil and transfer first calzone to sheet pan. Repeat for remainder of calzones.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
- While calzones bake, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, and oregano. Add olive oil while whisking. Toss with lettuce, tomatoes, and olives.
- Serve calzones with tomato or marinara sauce for dipping if you’d like. Enjoy salad on the side.
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