Underpants

Yes underpants. As it turns out, the word calzones in Spanish means underpants. It's actually an Italian dish, but I haven't had a chance to ask any of my Italian friends about it yet. My suspicion is that it has the same meaning because of the shape.

Basically, a calzone is a pizza that's folded in half. That half-moon is reminiscent of a pair of briefs, I suppose, although I'm a boxer man myself.

Ingredients Green Grocer

• 1 big bunch of Australian spinach (I mean silverbeet)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• A few leaves of basil (optional)
• Fresh Rosemary (optional)
• 2-4 tspns lime or lemon juice
.

Dry Store

• 500g strong flour
• 7g sachet of yeast
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 300g of sheep's or goat's milk fetta
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tspn preserved lemon rind
• 1 tspn salt

Method

• Mix the dough for the bases first because it will take an hour or so to proove. I have a bread maker at home and just let it take care of the dough. If you aren't so lucky, then full instructions follow.
• Mix the flour, yeast, a good pinch of salt and about 300 mls of water.
• Once it all comes together, let it rest for 10 minutes while you put a big pot of water on the stove to boil.
• Knead the dough
• Knead it some more
• Seriously, you have to pummel it for about 10 minutes to develop the glutens. By then, the dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
• Wash the green stuff well and strip the leaves off the stalks, but don't throw out the stalks.
• Cut the brown ends off the stalks and dice them to the same size as the onion.
• Heat a pan (one with a lid) on the stove and cover the bottom with olive oil.
• Add optional ingredients and braise the onion and stalks for at least 30 minutes. Braising is cooking in oil, but with a cover on the dish. That way the moisture evaporating off the food cools the oil and prevents the food from frying.
• Boil the leaves for about 5 minutes in salted water, then drain and cool quickly under cold water to set the colour. Chop the leaves up a little bit.
• When the braised stalks are cool, crumble in the fetta, chopped leaves, lemon or lime juice and beaten egg.
• By now, the dough will have doubled in size. Knock it back and divide it into 10-12 pieces.
• Dredge a bench with flour and get a bowl of water ready to use to seal the calzone. I also dredge the trays I want to use rather than oiling them. It works just as well and is usually easier to clean.
• Roll out one of the dough pieces into a thin round (I keep an old wine bottle for this purpose). It should finish up about 10-15cm in diameter.
• Put a healthy spoonful or two of the filling over half of the round, leaving enough room to seal it.
• Brush water over the empty half's edges and fold the empty half over the filling. Press down on the seam to seal it well.
• Bake the calzone in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes or until the crust begins to brown a little.

Notes