Broccoli Raab And Ricotta Calzone
serves 2-4
You can buy rounds of dough from a good pizzeria -- or find it in the freezer section of the grocery store. A pizza stone on the lowest rack of the oven helps make a good crust, but a heavy sheet pan will work, too. If you like, warm up your favorite tomato sauce for dipping.
3/4 pound fresh ricotta
1 bunch broccoli raab, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1/4 pound hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 1/2 pound pizza dough
prep: 15 minutes
total: 30 minutes, makes 2 calzones
cheesecloth
colander
baking stone or pizza stone
bowl
sauté pan
cooling rack
1. Put the ricotta in a cheesecloth set in a colander, and let it drain for 30 minutes to remove its excess liquid.
2. Preheat the oven to 500F and put a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Prep the broccoli raab: cut off and discard the very bottom part of the stems. Thinly slice the remaining stems on the bias, and roughly chop the leaves. Prep the shallot and remove the sausage from the casing.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook until lightly brown, 1-2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until it changes color, 4 minutes. Add the broccoli raab and cook until it begins to wilt and turn bright green, 2-4 minutes. Add a splash of water and cook until the water has evaporated and the broccoli raab is tender, 3-5 more minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and parsley, then remove the mixture to a plate to cool.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the pizza dough into 2 round balls, then roll or stretch each ball into an 8-10-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Spread half the ricotta mixture on 1/2 of each round of dough. Top each with half of the broccoli raab and sausage mixture. Sprinkle with the parmesan.
6. Fold each round over to enclose the fillling and make a half circle. Starting at the edge of each round, crimp the edges of the calzone to seal it.
7. Slide each calzone onto the pizza stone and cook until crisp and light brown, 10-12 minutes.
































