In my opinion, this recipe has the best of both worlds. I love calzones; they can have too much dough. In this recipe, I’ve combined the filling of a Calzone and pie dough for the crust, like an Empanada.
My Homemade Pie Crust recipe link is available at the bottom of the post. What I like to do is, when I make pie dough, I always make more than what I need for that day, and freeze it. This helps when I want to make a recipe like this one. I take the dough out of the freezer the night before, then refrigerate it until I’m ready to roll it out.
There are some great ready-made pie crusts available in the grocery store. If you don’t have the time to make your pie dough, pick up two boxes. This recipe calls for 4 pie crusts. The other great thing about this #calzone or #empanada is that the recipe, everything can be made in advance, and bake them off when you’re ready.
I’m going to be using butter and olive oil for this dish. In Italian cooking, they’ll utilize both, especially as you get into the northern regions of Italy. We all know butter is FLAVOR!🧈 Is this a calzone or an empanada?
Another great way to bring depth of flavor to this dish is to start with around 1/4 cup of diced Pancetta. Add the pancetta to a cold cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium-high heat and render all the fat out. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta, transferring those salty, crispy bits of goodness onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Use the pancetta grease to cook the shallots and mushrooms. An important tip to remember here is that if you are going to replace the butter and olive oil with Pancetta in this dish, you may want to decrease the amount of kosher salt you use, if any at all. Pancetta adds a salty flavor naturally.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time for filling: 30 minutes
Baking time for filled pastries: 12 to 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yields: 6 to 8 servings
Equipment: 1 (12-inch) cast-iron skillet, 2 large mixing bowls, a medium-size bowl, a rubber spatula, 4 rimmed baking sheet pans, and parchment paper, a chef’s knife, a cutting board, and a large spatula
Ingredients:
1 pound of sweet or hot (combination of both) Italian sausage (5 sausage links casing removed)
1 tablespoon of butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 pints of cremini mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped thyme leaves (substitute 1 tablespoon of dried)
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly-ground
5 mini sweet bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 Fresno chili, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chicken stock, unsalted
1 package of fresh spinach leaves
1 cup of ricotta cheese, whole milk
1 cup of store-bought shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup of store-bought shredded Parmesan cheese
4 pie dough circles (10-inch in diameter, 1/4-inch thick). Homemade Pie Crust link is below.
*egg wash, 4 large eggs plus 4 tablespoons water, beaten together
Garnish:
Side of marinara sauce for dipping, homemade or store-bought
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
To start, add both the butter and olive oil to a preheated cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. To the skillet, add the cremini mushrooms. Continue cooking, allowing the mushrooms to release their water. Occasionally stirring, once the mushrooms have released all their water, they will start browning in 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and fresh thyme leaves, and stir through.
Next, add the sliced mini sweet bell peppers along with the Fresno chili. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring with the mushrooms and shallots. Moving forward, add the sweet Italian sausage, dried oregano, kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Turn the temperature up to medium-high, and break the sausage up with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir occasionally until the sausage is cooked through, about 12-15 minutes.
Once the sausage is nice and brown, you want to *deglaze the pan by adding chicken broth to the skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all of those good bits of flavor off the bottom of the pan. Allow the stock to reduce and get absorbed by all the other ingredients for 3-5 minutes.
Add the fresh spinach, and stir through; it will wilt down very quickly. Once that happens, remove the pan from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, leaving any or all excess grease behind.
Allow the filling to cool before adding the cheese.
In another large mixing bowl, add the shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, and ricotta cheese, and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, combine the cheese mixture with the sausage mixture and stir until combined.
In a medium-size bowl, add the eggs and water, and whisk to combine.
Next, the pie dough. Roll all four of them out to about 10 inches in diameter, 1/8 inch thick.
Divide the filling into four equal parts. Using a spoon, place the filling on the bottom third of the pie dough almost all the way across. Brush the egg wash all around the perimeter of the circle. Fold the dough over the filling, meeting up with the other side of the dough. Â Press the filling down gently so it spreads out evenly inside the pie dough. Using a fork, crimp the edges to prevent filling from escaping. Take a paring knife and trim any excess dough from around the edges. All that does is to make the crimped edges even and rounded. This gives them a professional look. Brush more of the egg wash all over the top and sides of the pie dough.
Using a paring knife, vent the pies by making 4 small slits at the top of each one. Use a large spatula to transfer the filled Calzone/Empanada from the board onto a rimmed baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place all 4 baking sheets in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to rest before baking them. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.
Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.
There you have it, my Calzone or Empanada?
Notes:
1) Make pie dough the day before.
2) *egg wash is a mixture of beaten eggs and milk or water, brushed over pastry or dough before baking to give an attractive color and shine to the surface.
3) *Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.
4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.
Calzone Or Empanada?
Equipment
- 1 cast-iron skille 12-inch
- 3 mixing bowls 2 large and one medium size
- 1 rubber spatula
- 4 rimmed baking sheet pans
- parchment paper
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 large spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage (combination of both) (5 sausage links casing removed)
- 1 tbsp butter Unsalted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot Thinly sliced
- 2 pints cremini mushrooms Quartered
- 3 cloves galic Minced
- 2 tbsps fresh thyme leaves (Substitute 1 tablespoon of dried)
- 2 tbsps dried oregano
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly-ground
- 5 mini sweet bell peppers Seeded and sliced
- 1 Fresno chili Seeded and minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock Unsalted
- 1 package fresh spinach leaves
- 1 cup ricotta cheese Whole milk
- 1 cup store-bought shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup store-bought shredded Parmesan cheese
- 4 pie dough circles (10-inch in diameter, 1/4-inch thick). Homemade Pie Crust link is below on the homepage.
- *egg wash 4 large eggs plus 4 tablespoons water, beaten together
Garnish:
- Side of marinara sauce for dipping Homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.To start, add both the butter and olive oil to a preheated cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced shallots and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. To the skillet, add the cremini mushrooms. Continue cooking, allowing the mushrooms to release their water. Occasionally stirring, once the mushrooms have released all their water, they will start browning in 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and fresh thyme leaves, and stir through.Next, add the sliced mini sweet bell peppers along with the Fresno chili. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring with the mushrooms and shallots. Moving forward, add the sweet Italian sausage, dried oregano, kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Turn the temperature up to medium-high, and break the sausage up with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir occasionally until the sausage is cooked through, about 12-15 minutes.Once the sausage is nice and brown, you want to *deglaze the pan by adding chicken broth to the skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all of those good bits of flavor off the bottom of the pan. Allow the stock to reduce and get absorbed by all the other ingredients for 3-5 minutes.Add the fresh spinach, and stir through; it will wilt down very quickly. Once that happens, remove the pan from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, leaving any or all excess grease behind.Allow the filling to cool before adding the cheese.In another large mixing bowl, add the shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, and ricotta cheese, and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, combine the cheese mixture with the sausage mixture and stir until combined.In a medium-size bowl, add the eggs and water, and whisk to combine.Next, the pie dough. Roll all four of them out to about 10 inches in diameter, 1/8 inch thick.Divide the filling into four equal parts. Using a spoon, place the filling on the bottom third of the pie dough almost all the way across. Brush the egg wash all around the perimeter of the circle. Fold the dough over the filling, meeting up with the other side of the dough.  Press the filling down gently so it spreads out evenly inside the pie dough. Using a fork, crimp the edges to prevent filling from escaping. Take a paring knife and trim any excess dough from around the edges. All that does is to make the crimped edges even and rounded. This gives them a professional look. Brush more of the egg wash all over the top and sides of the pie dough.Using a paring knife, vent the pies by making 4 small slits at the top of each one. Use a large spatula to transfer the filled Calzone/Empanada from the board onto a rimmed baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place all 4 baking sheets in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to rest before baking them. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.There you have it, my Calzone or Empanada?
Notes
1) Make pie dough the day before.
2) *egg wash is a mixture of beaten eggs and milk or water, brushed over pastry or dough before baking to give an attractive color and shine to the surface.
3) *Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.
4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/
https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/09/04/homemade-pie-crust/
