Hey Good Lookin'! What You Got Cooking? Chicken/Spinach Calzones

Chicken and Spinach Calzone

This recipe turned out to be super easy and really tasty. It definitely is going to be a go-to dish that could easily accommodate leftovers. The pizza dough was much easier to make than I had anticipated. And it is another one of those recipes where I can shop for items on sale and just have them on hand. So, here you go:

WARNING:   THIS RECIPE TAKES ABOUT 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES TO PREP AND 30 MINUTES TO COOK SO GET IT STARTED WAY BEFORE YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY EAT IT. (It’s worth it).

Pizza dough:

1 package of yeast (2 and ¼ tsp)

1 tsp honey

1 cup lukewarm water

Combine all these ingredients in a bowl. Leave for about 10 minutes until a foam over the top of the yeast. If this does not happen, dump out the mixture and try changing the temperature of the water and mix again. The first time I did it – the water was too hot so it didn’t foam. After I lowered the water temp, it foamed quite well after 10 minutes.

To this mixture, add:

2 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 TBSP olive oil

Once combined, knead for about 5 minutes until you form an elastic ball. Rub a light layer of olive oil around the dough ball. Place in bowl, cover with a dish towel and leave to rise for an hour.

FILLING:

1 chicken breast

1 box of frozen chopped spinach

1 small onion, diced

1 cup of grated sharp cheddar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Oil for cooking

Place a pizza pan in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

Heat some oil in a pan to cook the chicken breast. Salt and Pepper the chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side over medium to high heat. You want it to be slightly undercooked because it will continue to cook in the oven.

Remove the chicken breast from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add more oil and then add the onions, spinach and red pepper flakes. Saute until heated through. Set aside.

Take out the dough and roll out. I found it easier to roll out into a square, but you may be able to accomplish the elusive circle. You want the dough to be about 1/8th thick if you can manage.

Chop up the chicken breast. In a bowl, stir together the chopped chicken breast, spinach/onion mixture, and shredded cheese. Spread this mixture on one side of the rolled out dough. Fold over the other half of the dough. Pinch the sides together. Brush a little bit of water over the top and cut three small holes in the top to vent.

Using a pizza peel coated with cornstarch or an extra set of hands, transfer the calzone to the preheated pizza pan.

Cook for 25 minutes or until a nice golden color.

 Let the calzone rest for a couple minutes. This made four servings.  We served ours with a BBQ sauce for dipping. Yum!!