Calzones are extremely easy to make and a great way to use up veggies that are a little past their prime. For this batch of calzones, I used red and green peppers, kalamata olives, onion, and spinach. I also used mozzarella-style Daiya cheese, which I highly recommend. It’s the closest thing to cheese that I’ve had since becoming vegan. Most Whole Foods now carry it, but if you aren’t near one, I know that you can buy it at Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe and at The Vegan Store.
For the calzone dough, I used the same pizza dough recipe that I used for the Za’atar Pizzas I made a few months back. I also used a little za’atar seasoning for the top of the calzones.
Veggie Calzones
Ingredients:
1 batch of pizza dough, divided into four balls when ready
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
½ small yellow onion
Baby spinach
Daiya mozzarella-style cheese
Za’atar
Cornmeal for dusting
Directions:
Make the dough according to the directions. You’ll need to allow 2 ½ hours for the dough to rise.
During the last half-hour needed for the dough to rise, make the marinara and chop the veggies. Pour the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Chopped the garlic cloves and add them to the pan. Once you start to smell the garlic (after about a minute), add the crush tomatoes, thyme, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, roughly chopped the peppers and onion and add them to the marinara, turn down the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Also during this time, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Brush a little olive oil on a sheet pan and sprinkle cornmeal onto the pan. Using a rolling pin, lightly and quickly roll out each of the four dough balls into a circle roughly 8 inches across (don’t worry if they aren’t uniform, just be sure not to roll the dough too much). Place each circle onto the pan and spread the filling on half of the dough. Add a small handful of the cheese, and top with the spinach. Fold the other half of the dough over and try to seal it, but don’t worry if it comes apart. Two of my calzones came apart during the baking process and they were still tasty. Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle some of the za’atar on top.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Enjoy!
