Skip to main content

Calzone di Verdure for #ItalianFWT


This month the Italian Food, Wine & Travel - #ItalianFWT - blogging group is traveling to Basilicata. Follow along the journey with my fellow #ItalianFWT bloggers.  You can also chat with us live this Saturday morning at 11am EST on Twitter at #ItalianFWT.  Hope to see you there!

from lifeinitaly.com

To Basilicata
The region of Basilicata, in Italy is at the instep of the Italian "boot," bordering Campania to the west, Apulia (Puglia) to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. Its capital is Potenza. Characterized by extremes of temperature and terrain, its most famous is the Aglianico grape where it was first introduced by the Greeks in the 6th and 7th centuries. 

The Other #ItalianFWT Offerings... 

In the Glass...
With the holidays and my poor planning, I found myself without a Basilicata wine to pour. Boo! But I plan to hunt one down soon as I'm intrigued by the descriptions of the densely flavored, well-structured Aglianico.


On the Plate...
I researched some traditional Basilicata dishes and decided to try my hand at a Calzone di Verdure. It was so easy - and such a hit - that we will definitely be making this more often. I had everything I needed at home. Feel free to use your favorite pizza dough - homemade or not - to create these. They are great!


Ingredients
  • 1 T active dry yeast
  • 1 T organic granulated sugar
  • 1 C warm water
  • 3 C white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 C ground almonds
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1/2 C fresh herbs, minced (I used a mixture of parsley, mint, thyme, and oregano)
  • 1/2 C fennel bulb, chopped
  • 1/2 C onions, chopped
  • 4 C chopped greens (I used lacinto kale)
  • 1/3 C dried cranberries (traditional are raisin, but I didn't have any)
  • butter for rubbing on the calzone after baking


Procedure
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let bloom until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, ground almonds, herbs, and oil. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

While the dough rests, saute the fennel and onions in a large, flat-bottom pan until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add in the greens and cook till they turn bright green and are just softened. You don't want them overcooked. Stir in the cranberries.

Press dough - with floured fingers - onto baking stone into circle and cut down the middle to form two half circles. Place the greens filling on one half and bring the dough over to form a rough triangle. Press the edges together to seal.

Bake for 16 to 18 minutes - until the dough is cooked and nicely browned. Carefully pull the stone out of the oven. To serve, rub bread with butter and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

Comments

  1. Sounds tasty! Will be curious how this works with Aglianico if you get to try it. I found a bit of a clash with the greens in my dish, but you might have enough cheese and dough for that not to be an issue here!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! I love your Basilicata Calzone! Thank you for diving into the food of the region. Awesome! Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That calzone looks awesome! I notice you added sugar and cranberries...would you say it was sweet? Or just the perfect balance with the greens and other herbs? I must try this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sugar is in the dough. It helps the yeast bloom. You can't taste it. The dried cranberries are a little bit sweet, but not too much.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event."  Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry by Sn