Calzone

A calzone is an Italian delight originating from Naples, dating back to the 18th century. Picture a pizza folded over itself to create a delectable turnover, baked to perfection. The dough is usually salted bread dough, and the fillings are a tantalizing mix of salami, ham, vegetables, mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan or pecorino cheese, and sometimes even an egg. Depending on the region, calzones may be stuffed with a variety of pizza toppings.

Unlike fried pastries such as calzoni and panzerotti, calzones are generally baked, though they are sometimes mistaken for these fried treats. A close cousin to the calzone is the stromboli. While calzones are crescent-shaped and filled with pizza-like ingredients, strombolis are more cylindrical and typically contain cheese and meat, but not necessarily traditional pizza ingredients. Moreover, calzones often accompany a side of tomato sauce, which is not always the case with strombolis.

In Italy, calzones can be found at lunch counters or street vendors, often in a convenient sandwich size. Sometimes, these are fried and stuffed with tomato and mozzarella, known as panzerotti. In Sicily, a similar treat called cuddiruni is also fried and filled with various treats.

In the United States, calzones are made from pizza dough and filled with an array of meats, cheeses, and vegetables. The dough itself is a simple combination of flour, yeast, olive oil, water, and salt. Once the dough is kneaded into disks, it is filled with your choice of ingredients, sealed, and then either baked or fried. To finish, calzones might be topped with marinara sauce or a savory garlic-olive oil mixture.

Interestingly, in Italy during the 1960s, calzones were considered the best type of pizza for home delivery. Their compact, sealed shape made them ideal for transport, ensuring that all the delicious fillings stayed perfectly contained.