Pepperoni and mozzarella calzone

Serves:

Ingredients

• 2 pkts (550g) frozen butter puff pastry
• ¾ cup (125g) mozzarella, roughly pulled apart
• 1 cup fresh ricotta
• 120g pepperoni, sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tins whole, peeled tomatoes
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 1 cup (30g) parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Bring a heavy-based medium saucepan to medium heat, add oil then garlic, onion, carrot, zucchini and pepperoni. Sauté for about 3 minutes until vegetables soften.

Add tomatoes to the pan along with bay leaf, squashing them between your fingers.

Simmer for around ten minutes until sauce thickens then stir in parmesan and set aside to cool completely.

Place 4 sheets of pastry on your work surface and thaw for 10 minutes. Using a butter knife, slice the sheets in half.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of cool sauce onto the middle of pastry piece leaving a 3cm border around the edges. Place a few small pieces of mozzarella on top.

Fold the pieces of pastry in half and roll up the edges all around to seal. Brush the ‘calzone’ with egg wash, and using a sharp knife slice an ‘x’ in the centre of the pastry.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• ‘Calzone’ means ‘stocking’ or ‘trouser’ – probably because fillings are stuffed inside! – and are the Italian version of a turnover.
• You can experiment with fillings; anything combination that goes on a pizza is perfect in a calzone.
• I prefer to use a ball of mozzarella and pinch pieces off the soft cheese, but you could use the same amount of the shredded mozzarella that you can buy in packets.
• Be careful with this pastry as its rather fragile compared to others. You can fill the pockets on the baking sheet you are using to make it easier to transfer it over.  No need to grease the baking sheet.
• This recipe was created by Kristine Duran-Thiessen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder.

Serving Suggestions

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