Kale, Bacon and Caramelized Onion Calzones

Had another clean out the fridge style cooking dilemma last night. So I decided to use one of my Christmas gifts. My brother Jeff bought me a calzone press, so I decided to make some tasty calzones using some multigrain pizza dough I had just bought. Calzone is such an underrated pizza alternative, especially since I always fold my pizza anyway. Using a little bit of bacon and some tasty caramelized onion for flavor, I also added kale to pack in some healthy vitamins. The combination of these ingredients yielded a flavorful and tasty calzone that wasn't overloaded with calories and salt. These made a fabulous dinner and I loved using the press, which made rolling, measuring and filling the dough a snap! Paired with some zesty homemade pizza sauce for dipping, it was a great meal that made some fabulous leftovers.

Read more for the full recipe

Recipe yields 3 large calzones. Serving size is 1/2 a calzone


Ingredients:
1lb (16oz) fresh pizza dough
whole wheat flour (for rolling dough)
1/4 cup water
2 onions, sliced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
12 oz park skim ricotta
2 cups fresh kale, ribs removed, washed and chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb (8 oz) thick cut bacon
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups pizza sauce (recipe below)

Pizza Sauce Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 tbsp tomato paste

12 oz tomato puree

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary 

Step by Step Instructions: 
1. Preheat oven to 375

2. In a small frying pan, saute onions in olive oil. Once browned, reduce heat to med-low and continue
to stir until caramelized, 15-20 minutes

3. While onions caramelize, saute bacon until browned, 5-7 minutes

4. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, kale, mozzarella, bacon, and onions

5. Flour the rolling surface and divide dough into thirds

6. Roll dough out to 1/8" thickness - if using a press or other pan, measure as you roll - shoot for 8-9" in diameter

7. Leaving a 1/2" margin around the edge of the dough, fill one half of the circle with the ricotta filling

8. Dip a finger in water, and dampen the end of the dough

9. Fold the unfilled half over the filled half and press the edges together with a fork

10. Place each completed calzone on a greased cookie sheet

11. Lightly brush the top of each with egg wash

12. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until dough is crisp and slightly browned

13. Serve with pizza sauce

Pizza Sauce Instructions:
1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until soft, 4-6 minutes
2. Add tomato paste and herbs and continue to brown 2-3 minutes
3. Add tomato paste, stir to incorporate, cover and reduce heat to med-low
4. Simmer sauce for 20-30 minutes and then serve warm