My Market Year(s)

Instructions

1. Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/4″ thick rounds.
2. Brush each round with olive oil on both sides and salt lightly.
3. Lay the rounds out on a foil lined baking sheets and roast at 425F for 15 minutes.
4. Turn and roast another 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned and soft. Remove and let cool.

1. You can also throw them in with eggplant and let roast along side. Put them on a baking sheet and let them cook for 15 minutes.
2. Turn and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
3. Turn once more and cook until they are well blackened (about another 10 minutes)
4. Then remove and put in a paper bag until they are cool
5. Once the peppers are cool, remove the skin and seeds and dice in 1/4″ dice.

Put about 1/2″ of water in the bottom of a large pot. Put a steamer basket in the pot and add the spinach.
1. Bring the water to a boil over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil, cover and steam for 2 minutes.
2. Turn the spinach and steam for 1 or 2 more minutes or until the spinach starts to collapse.
3. Remove the steamer basket from the pot and let the spinach cool.
4. Once the spinach is cool, squeeze out the extra water by hand and then coarsely chop the spinach to make it easier to spread.

Assemble and bake the calzone

Put two pizza stones in the oven, one in the lower third and one in the upper third. Preheat the oven to 500F. If you only have one pizza stone, make the calzones one at a time. Put the stone in the middle of your oven. If you haven’t cooked with a pizza stone before: (1) you should, they’re great and (2) your oven takes a lot longer to pre-heat (like twice as long) so plan ahead. If you don’t have a pizza stone, flip a baking sheet upside down and put it in the middle of your oven and buy a pizza stone for next time.
1. Divide the pizza dough into two balls. Roll out one ball into a 16″ circle (see my Pizza Dough Recipe).
2. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it on the dough. Don’t put oil on the outside 1″ of the circle. This where you will pinch and roll the dough together.
3. Spread 1/2 of the spinach on the 1/2 of the circle of dough closest to you.   Don’t put spinach on the outer 1″ of the dough.
4. Lay 1/2 of the eggplant slices on top of the spinach on 1/2 of the dough staying within the 1″ margin.
5. Top the eggplant and spinach with 1/2 of the red peppers.
6. Thinly slice the ricotta salata. Lay 1/2 of the slices on top of the vegetables.
7. Fold the dough in half over the vegetables. Then fold the outside edge in and and press to seal the dough. You should end up with a 1/2 inch rolled crust edge.
8. Use a knife or scissors and make 3 steam vent cuts in the top of the calzone.
9. I use an edgeless cookie sheet as a pizza peel. Sprinkle cornmeal over the front 1/2 of the cookie sheet. Use two spatulas to quickly pick up and move the calzone onto the cornmeal dusted portion. Shake to make sure the calzone slides. Open the oven and shake and slide the calzone off and onto the pizza stone / upside down baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the crust in browned and cooked.