Broccoli Rabe, Olive and Parmesan Calzone

By Melissa Clark

Broccoli Rabe, Olive and Parmesan Calzone
Total Time
About 40 minutes
Rating
5(91)
Comments
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A calzone has many of the perks of pizza. Easy and crowd pleasing, it’s a good vehicle for using up odds and ends in the fridge.

It also has some happy benefits of its own. For one, you can get away with adding a lot more cheese. In fact, it’s practically mandatory. You need to stuff enough ricotta and mozzarella into the dough so that it ripples attractively, rising as it bakes. Unlike an apple turnover, which wants to stay flat, a calzone should peak and singe at the top. (True, you could cram the dough full of vegetables and the like, but if you love cheese, calzones are the place to indulge.)

Another calzone advantage is the element of surprise. Pizza gives it all up as soon as it lands on the table; serve a calzone to a group and let them anticipate the moment when they find out what’s inside.

Featured in: See You Later, Pizza, This Dough Is for Calzones

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
  • 3garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1bunch broccoli rabe, tough stems removed
  • Kosher salt, as needed
  • Black pepper, as needed
  • All-purpose flour, as needed
  • 18-ounce ball pizza dough, homemade or purchased
  • 1cup fresh ricotta
  • ¼cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • 2tablespoons pitted good black olives, thinly sliced
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

888 calories; 45 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 44 grams protein; 1401 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and ⅔ of the garlic. Cook until fragrant but not brown, about 20 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe and 3 tablespoons water. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat, cover, and cook until stems are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Lightly flour a work surface, and stretch or roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Spoon ricotta on half the dough, leaving a half-inch border. Top with Parmesan, remaining garlic and mozzarella. Mound broccoli rabe over the cheese, and sprinkle with olives and pepper flakes. Brush the edges of the dough with water, and fold dough in half, over filling; pinch the edges of the dough together to seal.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer calzone to baking sheet. Brush the top with olive oil. Bake until crust is golden and firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Ratings

5 out of 5
91 user ratings
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Comments

Erin

Do yourself a favor. After you roll out the dough, put the dough circle on a piece of parchment paper or put the dough on the baking sheet before you start filling. Then you won’t be confronted with the realization, as I was, upon trying to move a stick heavy calzone, that there is no way this thing is going anywhere without ripping apart.

Annalisa

I used a different pizza dough recipe, besides that, I pretty much followed the recipe, and it came out great. By the way, yes, I
I am Italian, so I've tasted a lot calzones in my life; this one was one of the best ones I've had.

Susan

I made this following the recipe but I used regular broccoli because I had a large amount on hand. I chopped it into large pieces and cooked it according to the recipe. Used Aleppo pepper on top. This calzone was spectacular.

Cook

Delicious! I used David Tanis' Easy Pizza Dough. I seasoned the ricotta with sun-dried tomato oil and Calabrian chiles, and added a shallot to the garlic.

GreenSageSJ

Who on earth serves or eats a calzone in slices??? As LMS noted, divide the dough into two (or even four) smaller rounds to make individual portions. I found that Melissa's roasted broccoli rabe recipe works best to get rid of the bitterness Ellen lamented. I do reasonably big batches of it when it's growing in my winter garden, serve some for a side right after roasting, and save the rest for recipes like this, white pizza, or David Tanis's broccoli rabe lasagna.

LSM

I would split this into 2 smaller calzones next time. Would reduce the slightly soggier middle. Fabulous combination of ingredients!

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