Week 49 - calzones with a strawberry salad
Crisp folded pizza encasing cheesy heaven with a rich olive tapenade, served with a strawberry and pickled cucumber salad.
BASIC INGREDIENTS (4 PEOPLE)
400g flour (plain/self-raising)
2tsp of yeast (or 7g packet)
Tomato puree
100g nice PITTED olives, like kalamata
A few sundried tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 avocado
2 baby cucumbers of 1/2 cucumber
Seasonal lettuce leaves
Punnet of ripe strawberries
100-150ml vinegar (white wine/cider) or a lemon
Cheddar cheese, enough for 4 pizzas (ie. 4 big handfuls)
Block of feta or log of creamy goats cheese
TOPPINGS (choose some/all!) - enough for 4 people:
Peppers (or jarred), any colour
Mushrooms
Tinned corn
Tinned pineapple
Goats cheese/feta
Spinach
Jalapeños
Anything else you like in pizza
Herbs & spices: 1 clove of garlic, dried herbs (eg. mixed/Italian/Herbs de provenance), chilli (fresh/flakes), small bunch parsley
LUXURY INGREDIENTS (OPTIONAL)
1tsp capers
1-2 balls of mozzarella
Flaked almonds
Fresh basil (if you like it)
Selection of delectable calzones and salads from the chefs in this week's class
PREP
Slice red onion · grate cheddar cheese · drain olives (100g)
Equipment: scales, hand blender (or a fork to mash), big oven tray, thermometer (optional)
Firstly, we'll make the pickled cucumbers by thinly slicing it and placing in a small ramekin or jar. Pour in enough white wine/cider vinegar to cover and 1tsp of white sugar. Stir. Push all the cucumber pieces under the liquid and set aside.
We are only pickling for an hour but if you were doing this overnight you might like to add in some fresh herbs (dill/parsley) and some peppercorns.
Pizza dough
Into a mixing bowl measure out:
400g self raising/plain flour
1 sachet of yeast (2tsp)
1tsp sugar/honey (next to the yeast)
1tsp of salt (opposite side to the yeast)
3tsp of dried green herbs (mixed/herbs de provenance)
Dried chillies to taste
Next measure out 225ml of warm water (100F-120F) and mix in 2tbsp of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.
Slowly pour in the liquid to the flour and mix, you may not need all of the liquid. You are looking for a dough that comes together but doesn't completely stick to your hands.
Kneed for 3-5 minutes then cover and set aside somewhere warm.
Tapenade
In a bowl/mixing jug, put:
100g drained olives
1 clove of garlic
3 sun-dried tomatoes
3tbsp of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar
1tsp vinegar
1tsp capers (optional)
Small handful of parsley
Blend to chunky with a hand blender or mash with a fork. Taste, adjust (more vinegar? salt? garlic?), set aside.
Turn on your oven to its hottest settings and put in your oven tray. Prepare your fillings. Stir your cucumbers and make sure they are covered with liquid.
Make the calzone
Cut your dough into quarters, cover what you're not using to stop it drying out.
Take 1/4 and roll into a circle. It should be big enough to fit your two hands on. Then layer up your fillings on one half (you will be folding the pizza).
My suggestion to reduce a soggy bottom is to layer the veggies between the cheeses:
Tomato puree
Olive tapenade
Cheddar cheese
Fillings
Mozzarella - this goes on the 'top' so that when it cooks any liquid goes into the vegetable fillings and steams them in the pizza.
Next fold over your pizza and use a fork to seal the edges.
DO NOT poke holes in the top of the dough! You need it to be sealed so the insides cook.
To cook the calzones:
As quickly as you can, take the hot tray out of the oven, put on the pizzas and back into the oven.
I hope you made them all the same size or you'll end up with arguments in the house:
Check your creations after 8 minutes - depends on oven, you may need up to 14 minutes to cook them. You MUST check them as they get incinerated quickly!
Oh dear, poor Chef Terry (he said it was still nice though!)
Salad
Layer up in a pretty bowl your delicious salad ingredients:
Lettuce leaves
Feta/goats cheese
Sliced strawberries
Avocado
Fresh parsley
Flaked almonds
Just before serving, add your drained pickled cucumber - you can keep the vinegar to pickle other things in the future if you like.
Let your calzone sit for a few minutes to firm up a little, then enjoy with any leftover tapenade.
Lovely dinner from @vanda89vandi
Tips
- Cool any cooked calzones on a metal rack, upside down (this is so that all the juices don't pool on the bottom)
- To reheat, put oven to 180°, sprinkle a little water on the top, pop in oven on tray for 5-10minutes to warm through.
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