Arugula And Ricotta Calzones Recipes

ARUGULA & RICOTTA CALZONES

Steps:

• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Cook garlic in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Add arugula and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain arugula and remove as much water as possible, then coarsely chop.
• Stir together ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, yolk, salt, and pepper until blended. Stir arugula into mixture.
• Quarter pizza dough, then roll out each piece into an 8-inch round with a rolling pin. Put one fourth of cheese filling (about 1/3 cup) in center of 1 round and fold dough in half to enclose filling and form a semicircle. Press edges together to seal.
• Beginning at 1 end and working toward the other, stretch sealed edge outward, pinching and rolling edge to form a rope, and transfer to baking sheet. Make 3 more calzones in same manner, transferring to baking sheet.
• Bake calzones until golden and puffed, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before serving.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CALZONE

Steps:

• DOUGH.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together yeast, warm water, sugar and olive oil. Let sit for about 3 minutes to fully dissolve and activate the yeast.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
• With a rubber spatula, gradually mix the yeast mixture into the flour until just combined and dough barely holds together. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter surface dusted with flour.
• Knead the dough with flour-dusted hands until the dough has become smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. The surface should be tight and silky and bounce back slightly when pressed. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it.
• Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Once doubled, punch the dough down and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Knead each 1 slightly to form a uniform ball. Set aside and cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to rest for 30 minutes.
• Cook's Note: Dough can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight once it is divided. Keep covered tightly in plastic wrap or in a sealed food storage bag.
• Yield: 2 dough balls
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Lightly dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough out into an 8 by 11-inch oval.
• In a medium bowl, mix the spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Place all the filling on 1 half of the dough leaving a 3/4-inch border along the edge.
• Fold the remaining dough over the filling until the edges line up and pinch the edges together to seal. Gently roll the pinched edges under to form a decorative rim.
• Place the calzone on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal and brush the top with olive oil.
• Bake until golden brown and the center is hot and melted, 25 minutes, rotating midway through cooking.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS, ARUGULA AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a generous amount of salt. Add the asparagus. Cook pencil-thin asparagus for two minutes, three to four minutes if stems are medium-thick. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
• Place the ricotta in a large pasta bowl.
• Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions for timing on the package but checking a minute before the suggested cooking time. Stir 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water into the ricotta. Drain the pasta and toss at once with the olive oil and ricotta, the arugula, asparagus and Parmesan. Serve hot.