Prosciutto and Cheese Calzone

The simplicity of this dish belies its absolute deliciousness. The filling is simple and straight forward, and it takes mere minutes to put together, but the end result is so fabulous. This calzone is a flavor explosion in your mouth. Of course, you can never go wrong in my book with a dish containing prosciutto. Cured meats are always a good thing... flavor-wise at least. Then throw in a nice mixture of mozzarella and chèvre (soft goat's cheese), a little minced garlic, and fresh thyme, and you are on your way to paradise.

Make your own crust or use store bought. I've done it both ways and it is delicious either way. This is also a great dish to serve at a party; it's the perfect finger food. It's yummy hot out of the oven or at room temperature. And, though I haven't had this issue very often, it's also quite good cold the next day. Yum!

First, mix together the mozzarella cheese, chèvre, garlic, and thyme in a bowl.

Roll out your dough into a large rectangle. If you made your own dough, shoot for a 16 x 20 inch rectangle. That will set you up to fit nicely on a half sheet pan when you fold it over in half. If you are using rolled pizza dough out of a can, you will need two cans, one for the bottom and one for the top. Spread the cheese mixture over half the dough. Notice that it does not need to be too thick. Moderation is key here. I've found that too much filling can make a somewhat overbearing calzone.

By the way: be smarter than me. Place the dough on the baking sheet after you roll and before you fill... that's much easier than what I had to do to move this thing onto the pan after I had it all prepared. Hindsight is such a great thing, isn't it?

Then spread thin slices of prosciutto over the cheese mixture. Again, you don't need a lot to end up with a great flavor profile. Fold the dough over and crimp the edges. Brush the top with some egg wash to end up with a lovely golden crust. Bake at 425° F until nice and golden, about 20-30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Prosciutto and Cheese Calzone
Yield: 4-6 main course servings

1 lb pizza dough

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup crumbled chèvre (soft goat's milk cheese)
1 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp fresh minced thyme
1-2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto

1 egg yolk & 1 TBS water for egg wash

Roll out the pizza dough fairly thinly. Mix together the cheeses, garlic, and thyme. Spread over half the dough. Lay the prosciutto evenly on top of the cheese mixture. Cover the cheese and prosciutto with the other half of the dough. Roll up and crimp the edges. Brush the top with egg wash and bake in a 425° F oven 20-430 minutes or until nicely golden. Let cool slightly before serving.