Sausage Red Pepper Calzones Recipes

SAUSAGE PEPPER CALZONES

Steps:

• Crumble sausage into a large nonstick skillet; add the onion, peppers and 2 teaspoons oil. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. , Stir in the sherry, vinegar, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon each oregano and rosemary; heat through., Divide each loaf of dough into six portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a 6-in. circle. Brush with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining oregano and rosemary. , Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over each circle. Spoon about 1/4 cup sausage mixture on half of each circle to within 1/2 in. of edges; fold dough over filling and seal edges. Cut a small slit in top., Sprinkle cornmeal over greased baking sheets. Place calzones on baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. , Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Warm remaining pizza sauce; serve with calzones.

SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Brown sausage in a small skillet in a drizzle of olive oil. Transfer the cooked crumbled sausage to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
• Combine sausage with ricotta, parsley, garlic, Parmigiano, nutmeg, pepper, and pimento. Roll out doughs and halve cross-wise. Place a dough rectangle on a nonstick cookie sheet. Use 1/2 cup mozzarella on half of each dough rectangle and pile a mound of filling on half of the total area. Fold dough over and pinch edges to seal. The result is a rectangular turnover.
• For half-moon shaped calzones, trim excess dough. Roll dough bits into strips, tie in knots and brush with garlic oil and cheese. Garlic knots are fun to dip at the table.
• Bake calzones 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve calzones with warm tomato, marinara, or pizza sauce for dipping.
• Cook's Note: For an additional time saver, 2 packages precooked sausage crumbles, 8 ounces each, may be substituted for raw Italian sausage used in the above recipe.
• Add olive oil to medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper to the heated olive oil; when pepper snaps and garlic sizzles, stir in crushed tomatoes. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley. Serve.
• Yield: 4 servings

QUICK SAUSAGE AND BELL PEPPER CALZONES

Steps:

• Separate rolls onto a cornmeal-sprinkled work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest while preparing filling.
• Fry sausage in a 12-inch skillet, breaking it up into small bits with a spoon, until it loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Depending on the amount of fat in the pan, drain or add oil to equal about 2 Tbs. Add onion and peppers; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Transfer to a bowl. Cool to room temperature; stir in cheeses and optional parsley.
• Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Sprinkling with cornmeal as necessary, roll out each roll into a 7-inch circle. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup of filling just below the center line, leaving a 1-inch border along the bottom half of the dough circle. Spoon filling just below the center line of the circle of dough, leaving a border along the bottom half of the circle. With wet fingertips, moisten the bottom border. Fold dough over filling and press edges together. Thoroughly seal by using fingertips to crimp and flute the edges or by pressing with the tines of a fork. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (At this point, can be frozen up to 2 weeks.)
• Brush tops with oil. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes (longer if frozen). Let cool slightly and serve with warm marinara sauce.

SAUSAGE, PEPPER & MOZZARELLA CALZONES

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Add sausage, onion and peppers. Cook until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, breaking up sausage into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain., Stir in sherry, 1 teaspoon each oregano and rosemary, vinegar, salt and pepper; heat through. On a lightly floured surface, divide each loaf of dough into six portions. Roll each into a 6-in. circle. Brush with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining oregano and rosemary., Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over half of each circle to within 1/2 in. of edge. Spoon about 1/4 cup sausage mixture over sauce. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese. Fold dough over filling; press edge with a fork to seal. Cut a small slit in top., Sprinkle cornmeal over greased baking sheets. Place calzones on baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water; brush over calzones. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Warm remaining pizza sauce; serve with calzones. Freeze option: Freeze cooled calzones in a resealable plastic freezer bag. To use, reheat calzones on a greased baking sheet in a preheated 375° oven until heated through.

CALZONES WITH CHEESE, SAUSAGE AND ROASTED RED PEPPER

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into large bowl. Stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix in oil and salt. Add 3 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until blended. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes.
• Place dough in oiled large bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, char bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and slice pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onions; sauté until brown, about 25 minutes. Set aside. Sauté sausage in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until cooked through, breaking into 1/2-inch pieces with spoon, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Mix both cheeses and oregano in bowl, season with salt and pepper.
• Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Dust 2 baking sheets with flour.
• Punch dough down. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide into 4 equal portions; shape each into ball. Roll out dough balls on lightly floured surface to 9-inch rounds. Spread 1/3 cup cheese mixture over half of each round, leaving 3/4-inch border. Cover cheese on each with 1/4 of onions, 1/3 cup cheese mixture, 1/4 of sausage, 1/3 cup cheese mixture, then 1/4 of bell peppers. Fold plain dough halves over filling, forming half circles. Pinch edges of dough firmly together to seal.
• Using spatula, transfer 2 calzones to each prepared sheet. Pierce tops in several places with small knife. Bake calzones 15 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and bake until tops of calzones are golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.

SAUSAGE AND PEPPER CALZONES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven. Put a pizza stone or an upside-down baking sheet on the rack and heat the oven to 450°F. Line a pizza peel or cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the sausage, peppers, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up the sausage, until the sausage browns and the onions and peppers soften, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Lightly flour a work surface. Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch each piece into a 6- to 7-inch round.
• Divide the ricotta among the four rounds, placing it on one half and leaving a little room around the edge. Top with the sausage and pepper mixture and the mozzarella. Fold the dough in half over the filling. Pinch and crimp the dough either with a fork or your fingers to seal tightly.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 Tbs. water. Brush over the calzones and sprinkle with the rosemary and a little sea salt. Transfer to the parchment-lined peel. Slide the parchment and calzones onto the hot pizza stone and bake until golden on top and bottom, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.

SAUSAGE-ROASTED PEPPER CALZONE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees, with a pizza stone placed on the lowest rack, for at least 30 minutes. Place parchment paper on a pizza peel.
• Mix tomatoes, garlic, and 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium bowl until well combined; season with salt and black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
• Cook peppers over an open flame (on the stove or a grill) until skin is blistered and charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let steam 10 minutes. Once peppers are cool enough to touch, rub skin off using a paper towel. Remove stems and seeds; dice peppers.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil and onion to pan. Cook, stirring up brown bits, until golden, about 3 minutes. Return sausage to pan along with roasted peppers and tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and more crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 12 inches in diameter, with the edges of the dough slightly thinner than the center.
• Place one-quarter of the filling on half of each round. Top with one-quarter of the mozzarella and season with salt and pepper. Fold dough in half over filling and crimp as desired to seal. Place 2 calzones on prepared pizza peel and transfer to pizza stone along with parchment paper. Bake until dough is puffed and golden, and filling is hot, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 calzones. Serve immediately.

SAUSAGE AND ROASTED PEPPER CALZONE

Steps:

• Allow both crust pouches to stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large skillet brown sausage with onions and garlic; drain. Stir in basil, Italian seasoning and pepper. In small bowl, beat eggs with fork. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons; set aside. Add ricotta cheese to remaining eggs; mix well. Stir into sausage mixture. Add mozzarella cheese, red peppers and 3 tablespoons of the pine nuts; mix well.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove crusts from pouches; unfold. Press out fold lines. If crusts crack, wet fingers and push edges together. Place one prepared crust on end of large ungreased cookie sheet with about 1/3 of crust hanging over edge. Spoon half of sausage mixture over half of crust on cookie sheet, leaving about 1-inch border and mounding filling towards center. Fold pie crust half over filling; press edges with fork to seal. Cut four 1-inch slits in top of crust. Repeat with second crust and remaining filling at opposite end of cookie sheet. Brush with reserved 1 1/2 tablespoons egg. Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. To serve, cut each calzone in half or into 3 wedges.