Recipe: Beans and Greens Calzones

I have only recently become confident enough in my cooking ability to invent my own recipes -- I used to be a hard-and-fast recipe follower. Now, I know enough about cooking and food that I know what flavors will work with one another and what won't. Of course, some of my inventions are better than others; I put this together for dinner last night and it was awesome!

Beans and Greens Calzones
Serves: 2-4*

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 large handfuls of baby spinach
about 1/2 a block of grated mozzarella
about 4 Tbsp grated parmesan
pizza dough ( I used the just-add-water packet, but I'll bet this
one from (never home)maker would be awesome)
1 egg, beaten

- heat olive oil in a large pan.
- add red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook for 30-ish seconds.
- add spinach and stir, coating with oil, until it is wilted.
- add cannellini beans and heat through.
- mash some of the beans right in the pan with the back of your spoon. The goal is somewhat paste-y but somewhat chunky.
- salt and pepper to taste.

- divide your prepared pizza dough in two halves.
- roll each half out to about a 10-inch circle
- sprinkle about 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella on each circle.
- top with a decent-sized scoop of beans and greens (you may have some left over)
- layer another 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella on top of that.
- sprinkle with a bit of parmesan.
- brush egg along the edge of the dough, then fold in half and fold the bottom edge over the top edge (does that make sense?)
- crimp edges with your fingers or a fork, and pierce the top of each calzone a few times with a fork.
- brush the tops with the egg wash, and sprinkle the remaining paremsan cheese on top.

- bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, I rotated the pan halfway through for even browning.

Enjoy!



*these are pretty big. I ate half of one, but totally could have eaten the whole thing.