Meat Free Monday: Spinach and 3 Cheese Calzone

Today’s Meat Free Monday dish is Spinach and 3 Cheese Calzone. OK, so technically it’s now Tuesday.  I just wasn’t able to get my act together enough to get this posted on Monday.

So the thing about this dish is that everyone thinks it’s complicated… granted maybe if I was starting from scratch, making my own dough, I’d think the same.  But I don’t – I use the store bought dough and bring it to room temperature.  I also use just a jarred (organic) tomato sauce for dipping the calzone into.   So with all my cheating – it makes this delicious and pretty dish easy to create.

Ingredients:

• Pizza dough (either make or purchase)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried
• Salt and pepper
• 15 ounces ricotta
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup shredded fontina
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For Filling:

1. In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes until lightly browned.
2. Add the spinach, season, and continue to cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and squeeze out the excess liquid.
3. If necessary, drain the ricotta in a sieve to remove excess moisture. (Calzone filling should be fairly dry, because it may leak out or make the dough mushy. )
4. Combine spinach, cheeses, egg, and pepper in a large bowl.

For Calzones:

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. If you don’t have a stone, simply grease a baking pan.
2. Roll or spread your pizza dough  into 10-inch circles, leave the dough slightly thick so that the filling will not ooze out.
3. Spoon filling onto 1 side of the dough round and brush the outer edge with egg whites to help form a seal.
4. Fold dough over to enclose the filling and form a large turnover.
5. Roll up the edges with your fingers to close tightly and prevent leaking.
6. Cut a few slashes in the top to allow steam to escape during baking and brush with egg whites.

Bake directly on pizza stone for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let the calzones rest 10 minutes before cutting to allow the cheese to set. Serve with basic tomato sauce if desired.