This was going to be a post about Sicilian desserts, to finish off my holiday scribblings and pass on the heavenly sweet that is Cannoli to the uninitiated.
And then any warm and fuzzy, Jamie Oliver-esque feelings left by the afterglow of my successful food travels, disappeared faster than blue sky over Scotland.
I realise the point of a food blog is usually to inspire others and pass on recipes that actually work but if anyone is suffering a crisis of confidence in the kitchen then a few minutes reliving my week can only serve to improve your mood and its so tragic its almost laughable.
I developed an unhealthy addiction to Cannoli while on our honeymoon and I was so horrified at the thought of going without until I could get back to Sicily that as soon as I had an afternoon to spare I armed myself with a set of Cannoli moulds and a bottle of Passito, thinking I would be writing now and munching contentedly on a second batch… not so I’m afraid. Turns out I’m very good at making edible drain pipes.
I did try various methods of frying and baking the dough but no joy. Not deterred, I decided to come back to Cannoli another day and moved on to the Marsala mousse recipe I was determined to re-create from our last supper. What at first bite was perfectly light and fluffy, turned out to be hiding an offputting little puddle of sweet wine that was lurking in the bottom of the cup instead of behaving itself in the mousse as planned. Not being able to face making another batch I abandoned that one as well.
Next followed honey and cinnamon cupcakes and then blueberry muffins in an attempt to lift my spirits (not all in one day I should point out) but neither of them turned out to be drop-what-you’re-doing blog worthy creations. In fact the muffins are currently lining the bottom of my dustbin… you know its bad when you feel compelled to throw out cake.
By the weekend I was pretty dejected and my daily wine consumption was nearing dangerous levels. So who knows why but with what in hindsight seems suicidal determination, I decided to try and make Calzone on Saturday night. I can make a decent pizza but I’ve never had much luck with Calzone as my dough always lands up soggy in the middle and the fillings not quite as good as they do when they get to toast themselves directly under a hot grill.
This time however, pizza was my prozac. The food gods must have taken pity on my hitherto pathetic week because I was slightly obsessive about making sure all my ingredients were moisture free but other than that I did the same things as usual and instead of doughy misery I was rewarded with cheesy happiness. Crispy, chewy, salty, creamy Calzone and Pizza all in one. Even with the best of both calzone and pizza combined it might not sound like much of a nirvana but sometimes a simple success is the perfect comfort food.
So for those of you in need of cheering up I recommend the following recipe. I owe the pizza dough recipe to Tessa Kiros and the rest to the food gods.
Home-made Calzone-Pizza
Pizza dough from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros.
- 500g plain flour plus extra for dusting
- 370ml warm water
- 12g instant yeast
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 onion
Toppings
- 2 smoked bacon rashers, finely chopped
- large handful baby spinach leaves, steamed and drained
- 100g ricotta
- 1 cup grated mozarella
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 tin of anchovies in oil
- 1/4 cup pitted and halved black olives (kalamata are best)
- 1 birdseye chilli finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Combine the yeast, honey, water and 150g of the flour in a large bowl and whisk well. Leave to stand for 15-30 min until the yeast begins to activate. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and the salt and then the remaining flour. Mix using an electric mixer with a dough hook or by hand, adding more four if required, until the dough is smooth and elastic but not too dry. Place in a clean oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for 1-1/2 hours until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, chop the onion and garlic in a blender. Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and fry the onion mixture for 5-10 min until soft. Add the rosemary and then the tinned tomatoes and simmer for about 40 min until all the moisture is removed. You want to get from this…
To this…
Take the tomato slush off the heat and leave to cool. In another pan, fry the chopped bacon until very crispy and drain on kitchen towel. Make sure the spinach is completely drained by squashing it against a sieve with a metal spoon before roughly chopping. Drain the anchovies on kitchen towel as well. Prepare the other toppings while the dough is rising. When ready, preheat the oven to 245°C. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide in two. Freeze one half for use another time and roll the other out on a baking sheet into a large rectangle, rolling it thinner on one side than the other. Place a few teaspoons of tomato followed by the spinach, bacon, half the ricotta and a sprinkle of mozzarella on the thinner half, leaving a 2-3 inch gap around the edge.
Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Spread the remaining half with tomato (freeze whatever is left) and top with the anchovies, olives and chilli. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan over the top and finally the oregano.
Place in the oven 15 min until the cheese and edges are golden (I don’t have a pizza stone but I did place my baking sheet with an air pocket in it on the oven rack to provide extra heat from below). Either slice the pizza and calzone separately if people prefer one or the other or cut across so that you get a strip of each with every slice.
Grab a napkin and apply to face.
The bacon and anchovies aren’t for me, but the pizza looks great. Can you believe I have never tried a calzone pizza before?
You must definitely give it a go, really good with a veggie friendly mix of ricotta, mozarella and spinach!!
You just can’t go wrong with the ‘za… looks divine – might try it meself when I get into my own kitchen…
There are a lot of Italian’s in Hamilton and Cannoli is something that pops up a lot at bake sales n the like – it is definitely a talent learned over time – the best ones are always made by someones great gran mama
Patience young chef – you’ll get there someday!