Spinach and Ricotta Calzone

One thing about cooking with fresh cheese is  I always end up having leftover. Half of the time, they just sit in the fridge until they turn moldy (ill :P). So I have been trying to looking for a recipe for the leftover ricotta cheese that I bought for the baked ziti. When I saw Spinach on sale in Top Tomato (local supermarket), a lightbulb went off in my brain~!! I remembered seeing Spinach and Ricotta Calzone somewhere, so here we go, my first attempt of making Calzone.

Makes 2 large pies
Active time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes


Ingredient

1 pound pizza dough
2 tsp olive oil
12 oz fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded part-skim milk mozzarella cheese
A couple of pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
A few shakes of crushed red pepper
A generous amount of salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil for brushing the pies
Handful of chopped coldcuts




Method

Preheat oven to 500 if using a pizza stone or 425-450 if using a baking sheet.


Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and cook 1-2 minutes until wilted. Remove spinach from pan and place in a colander. Squeeze the spinach with the back of a spoon until the water is extracted, and it looks dry. Place spinach in a bowl; add ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, nutmeg, crushed red pepper, coldcuts and salt. Mix well. Taste to make sure it is adequately seasoned.


To form the calzones:
Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half, and roll into two 8-10-inch ovals. For each piece of dough, put half of the spinach-ricotta mixture a bit above the center of the oval. Fold the dough to form a half-moon; seal the edges together by pressing down lightly. Then using your fingertips, fold the edge of the dough up, and pinch around the edge to create a seal. Brush them with the 2 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil.

For a pizza stone, bake at 500 degree for about 10-15 minutes, or until both the top and bottom of the crust is golden brown.


For a baking sheet, bake at 450 for about 25 minutes, or until both the top and bottom of the crust is golden brown.



Recipe by Susan Russo http://foodblogga.blogspot.com