I can't remember the last time I had a calzone. They are delicious! This recipe was inspired from Leafy Greens and Me...I could barely wait to get this one underway. I've had a few of these the last few days trying to get good pictures...what a tough job right! :) What I really loved about this is the roasted garlic cream sauce....roasted garlic is amazing and actually mellows out after roasting leaving wonderful mild flavors, a little nutty, sweet, almost caramel like. I added some miso to the garlic sauce, giving it that little extra something. Miso is a staple in my refrigerator and lasts up to a year, you can find more uses for miso by searching my site in the box on the right or by scrolling down to the ingredients list. I have a couple recipes that you might enjoy. Be sure to pick up some miso and get this calzone into your life, and if you don't have miso this will still be a great roasted garlic cream sauce!
I would love to see your masterpieces! #thesimpleveganista
There is quite a bit of high heat oven time going on so this is definitely a great meal during the cooler months....perfect for this time of year. You don't want the oven on like this in the summer, especially in the hotter regions....400 & 500 degrees for an hour or two and someone is bound to get slapped upside the head. ;) This is also not an energy saving recipe for those ultra conservatives, but we do a bit here and a bit there so I think we'll be alright to enjoy this scrumptious calzone every now and then. As a matter of fact while were on the subject of the environment, did you know the global warming we are experiencing is a natural part of the earth's cycle. Yes indeed, it would happen no matter what...with us or without us...just ask and I will forward you some interesting information! Of course, it definitely doesn't help creating new canister hairsprays, or having herds of cars, or herds of factory farmed animals contributing to the already warming trend, but what are we going to do...little by little, step by step everything will come to light...in the meantime let's relax & eat...
Portobello & Kale Calzone with Garlic Miso Cream
Ingredients (makes 4)
- 1 1b. whole wheat/grain pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's), divided into 4 sections
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, cut somewhat small
- four large leaves of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped or left somewhat whole (I used curly kale) or a bundle of spinach
- large handful cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- olive oil, to brush on top of calzone
- himalayan salt and cracked pepper to taste
- cornmeal for dusting the pizza wheel
Garlic Cream Sauce
- 1 cup cashews, soaked for at least two hours or over night
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup water, if you soaked the cashew for two hours use 1 cup, if soaked overnight use 1/2 cup water
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons white miso
- juice of 1 lemon
- himalayan salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
First, roast the garlic for the garlic cream sauce. Remove most of the outer layer of skin on the garlic leaving enough to hold them in place, lay sideways and cut the tops off. Place garlic cut side up on a piece of tinfoil, drizzle with olive oil and top with sea salt & cracked pepper. Fold ends of foil up and squeeze together and crimp the edge. Place on cookie sheet and cook for 40-45 minutes. Let cool. Check here for a great visual tutorial from Oh She Glows: How To Roast Garlic
Once garlic is done, turn the oven up to 475-500 degrees. Place pizza stone inside the oven for about 45 minutes before cooking.
While garlic is roasting, let pizza dough come to room temp in its package away from oven heat for 30 minutes. Remove from package, place on a lightly floured surface, flatten out a bit with your hands, cut dough into four equal portions, roll each portion into a ball, cover with light towel and let set for another 30 minutes away from oven heat to let the gluten relax....if the gluten isn't relaxed you may have a hard time rolling out your dough properly.
Next onto the garlic cream sauce. Drain cashews and place all ingredients into food processor/blender and process until creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. If cream is too thick and extra water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency being careful not to thin it out too much making it runny, if in doubt leave it on the thick side. Taste for seasoning, set aside.
Slice your grape/cherry tomatoes in half, place in small bowl and set aside. You may even want to dip a tomato half into the garlic cream sauce, just to make sure it tastes good!
In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and cook until onions become soft. Add in mushrooms, broccoli, kale/spinach, thyme and salt & pepper to taste, cook for another 5 minutes or so. Turn off heat and cover ajar to help steam and soften the veggies a little more while working on the next step.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion out into an eight inch oval, rectangle, circle, ...whatever works easiest for you. Lay on some of the veggie mixture, add a few heaping tablespoons of the garlic miso cream and top with some of the kale and tomatoes (or layer however you like, this is just a suggestion, my emphasize is to keep the cream in the middle of the calzone as much as possible). Fold the other half over and seal the edges by rolling them up and sealing or by pressing with a fork, or both. Top with a light coat of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and thyme.
Dust the heated pizza stone with cornmeal, place calzone on the pizza stone and bake for 7 - 10 minutes, until crust is puffy and golden brown. Let cool a few minutes and serve. Serve with some garlic miso sauce on the side.
Note: Pizza stones are a really nice item to have...they work great for pizza of course, and this calzone, as well as baking artisan bread. Some of my favorite loaves of artisan bread were baked using a pizza stone.
Enjoy!
I would love to see your masterpieces! #thesimpleveganista