Spinach & Mushroom Calzone

Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Calzone

These Calzones were greeted with great enthusiasm by my daughter (and by us grownups!) - they're delicious, and add a nice variety to a Vegan menu.

I always love to find an easier way to make something, and these were much easier than you might expect. I made a few fresh for today, and several more to go in the freezer for future meals.

For the outside, I used the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day dough that I always keep on hand in the refrigerator. It really does take 5 minutes to whip up a batch! Of course, you could always use purchased dough from the store if you prefer.

Then, I made a double batch of my easy Manicotti filling, and made a tray of Manicotti for the freezer for a future meal along with these Calzones (A single Batch of Manicotti filling makes either one pan of Manicotti or a Dozen Calzones with a little filling to spare - so doubling the batch allows me to have both!)  You don't have to double the filling & make both recipes, it's just a nice option to have : )

For this recipe, you'll need:
Bread Dough (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day or store bought)
Manicotti Filling (below)
Pizza Sauce (store bought or home made)
Buttery Spread - like Earth Balance
Garlic Salt

Manicotti or Calzone Filling (this is a single batch)

Stuffing:
Saute**

1 diced Onion (or 1/2 of a 12oz bag of Frozen Chopped Onion OR 3/4 tsp Onion Powder)

1 to 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic

Add:

1 (10 to 12 ounce) package frozen, chopped spinach (thawed and drained and squeezed dry)
Mix:
1 (14 to 16 ounce) package firm tofu, mashed with fork (I prefer the refrigerated kind in plastic tubs to the aseptically packaged varieties)
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper
1 (4oz) can Mushrooms, drained
Mix together thoroughly

Then, I pulled off plum-sized pieces of dough, rolled them into circles (about 6 to 8" in diameter) and spread them with some Pizza Sauce in the middle. (I make 3 calzones with a pound of dough. My 4-pound, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day batch of dough, makes a Dozen Calzones)

**If you use onion powder instead of fresh or frozen onion, the sauteing step may be skipped - just stir & stuff - but note, volume of filling will be decreased slightly

I rolled out the dough

I spread on Pizza Sauce, being careful to leave a wide edge margin for sealing

I added a rounded 1/3 cup of filling

Then I folded it over, and firmly pinched the edges, and perforated the top

I put in a rounded 1/3 cup of Manicotti or Calzone Filling in the middle, and stretched the dough over the top, being careful not to get sauce on the edges of the dough (sauce on the edges prevents a seal - you can see a couple of leaks on the pictures below where I had sauce across the seal). Then, I pinched the edges of the dough shut. I patted them down a bit, and put them on the pizza baking tray. Then I slashed the top to vent steam (I made the mistake with the first batch of pricking with a fork rather than slashing - the holes resealed & the steam did not vent well). Right before baking, I splashed them with a bit of water to make a nice crust.

Calzones Coming out of the oven on the Perforated, nonstick Pizza Pan

I baked them in a preheated oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 to 30 minutes, till golden brown. Then, I brushed with a tiny bit of Buttery Spread, and sprinkled with Garlic Salt.

Serve - be cautious - centers will be steamy-hot!

Calzones after baking, with buttery spread & garlic salt

If you want a restaurant-style presentation, you might want to serve some extra warm Pizza sauce for dipping. 

The ones we were not eating today were put in a single layer on a parchment-lined pan in the freezer to flash freeze. When they're frozen, they'll be transferred to an airtight freezer container.

Calzones ready for flash freezing

These Freeze well, but they are best when freshly made. I thawed them before baking. In the future I hope to try baking them straight from the freezer and see how that works.

Tip for dining with Omnivores: If you have a traditional Calzone recipe to serve your Omnivores along side these, that would be perfect. Also, when the Omnivores in the family order out for Calzones or Pizza from the local pizzeria, it's nice to be able to toss one of these in the oven for the Vegans : )

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