Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Ninety!!!(Another great calzone compliments of Guest Chronicler Laura of the 'Hey Spelty' Blog)

The following recipe and commentary are from Laura of the Hey Spelty blog.   Laura is located somewhere outside of the Great State of Maine, but I learned about her blog from a friend.  She has discovered, like many other people, that the industrial wheat (aka common wheat) makes her feel not so great, and that the ancient grain spelt is a wonderful alternative for her.  She also has other food allergies and sensitivities so her blog may be especially useful for some of our readers with a range of food allergies.  Here is another calzone recipe that she posted.  

Laura speaking, "I've really gotten on a calzone kick lately.  they are easy to make in advance and are great to pack for lunch.  sadly, dairy still seems to be a problem for me, so i've had to rethink my typical filling ideas. a friend suggested using caramelized onions instead of cheese and while nothing will ever replace cheese (glorious cheese), these are so tasty that i don't miss it."

sausage and onion calzones made with Spelt Right dough
makes 4

1 ball Spelt Right pizza dough, thawed
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 link hot italian sausage, removed from casing and chopped
1 link sweet italian sausage, removed from casing and chopped
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, spelt flour for dusting

allow pizza dough to rise at room temperature until roughly doubled in size

heat some olive oil in a large skillet, add sliced onions and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they have caramelized to a medium brown color.  this usually takes around 30-45 minutes.once onions are caramelized, transfer them to a medium bowl.

in the same skillet, brown the sausage, breaking it up into small chunks as it cooks
after sausage cooks, drain excess fat and add sausage to onions

add lemon zest and chopped thyme and mix well

preheat oven to 450

line an inverted sheet pan with parchment,
divide dough in to four equal sections
stretch and flatten each section into a flat disc

place 1/4 of the onion/sausage mixture onto one side of each flattened round of dough
fold the other side over the mixture and crimp shut

transfer each calzone to the baking sheet

top with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

using a sharp knife or scissors, cut slits in the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape

bake for roughly 15 minutes or until golden brown

serve with tomato sauce

yum!

Although, I have not yet tried Laura's recipe, I am going to give it a TWO THUMBS up.  It looks and sounds so good.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Eighty-Six (Guest Blogger from Cyberspace)

Wow, the internet and long term friendships can be VERY COOL. I am convinced that "6 degrees of separation" is more like "2 degrees of separation" with all of this cyber activity. I recently reconnected with my friend, Diana S., from high school. Prior to this year, the last time I saw her was about 30 years ago. I must say, we have both aged well! Diana is a wonderful fan of Spelt Right and recently sent me an email post from another high school acquaintance, posting a recipe from another friend in Boston made with Spelt Right dough. Given that we all live in different states, I think it is quite COOL. Here is the post, the link, and the recipe. Enjoy! http://heyspelty.blogspot.com/2010/08/happy-happy.html

spelt calzones
makes 2 enormous calzones

1 ball spelt right  frozen pizza dough, thawed and risen for around 2 hours
(make sure not to let the dough rise too quickly.  with wheat flour i would usually proof dough in the oven with the oven light on- this does not work for spelt.  i don't know why, my guess is that it has something to do with shorter gluten strands....?)

filling:
1 med zucchini, large dice
6 oz fresh spinach (1 bag)
4 scallions, small dice
4 oz feta, crumbled

olive oil
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes

preheat oven to 450

cover an inverted baking sheet with parchment paper

for the filling:

brown zucchini in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
remove from pan.

using the same pan, quickly saute the spinach until fully cooked.
once it is cool enough to handle, squeeze as much moisture from the spinach as you can.
chop.

mix zucchini, spinach, scallions and feta in a bowl.

for the crust:

after the dough has risen, dust the counter or a board with spelt flour and divide the dough ball into 2 equal pieces.  working one at a time, flatten each dough ball to roughly 10" diameter.

scoop 1/2 of the filling onto one side of each flattened disc, then fold the remaining dough over the filling.  crimp the edges.

transfer your calzones to the inverted baking sheet.

using a sharp knife or scissors, snip 3 holes into the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape.

brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

bake for approx. 15 minutes until golden brown.

devour.