This Pizza Rustica inspired Italian Easter Pie Calzone is filled with a delicious mixture of cheeses and meats and wrapped up in a golden crust.
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Once again, it looks like another year is going to escape me before I make a traditional Pizza Rustica, or Italian Easter Pie. But that's mainly because I'm having way too much fun making variations of this savory Easter dish! So far, I've made mini Easter pie cups and pepperoni bread inspired Easter pie squares. And this year, I'm mixing things up with an Italian Easter Pie Calzone!
Like I totally get Ben Wyatt's (Parks and Rec) love for a good calzone. You have this golden pizza style crust enveloping all of this cheesy goodness with salty meats hidden inside. I mean, I love a good slice of pizza, but I would pass up a hot and cheesy slice for an ooey-gooey calzone any day!
A classic calzone is usually made with mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and ham. But in order to turn this into an Easter pie calzone, I'm also adding pepperoni, salami, and prosciutto to the mix. Fold it all up inside pizza dough and cook until it's golden brown and the cheese is melted. Then, you can enjoy it with marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Italian Easter Pie Calzone
If you're looking to switch things up for pizza night during the Easter season, consider making this Italian Easter Pie Calzone instead. It has all the meat and cheesy goodness you'd find inside an Italian Easter Pie wrapped inside a golden crust.
Start this calzone by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. It's better if you let your pizza dough rise a few hours at room temperature before using.
Once you're ready to make the calzone, you can stretch the dough into one large calzone. Or you can divide the dough into 4 smaller portions to make individual calzones.
To mix up the filling, add the ricotta and mozzarella cheese to a mixing bowl. Stir in minced garlic, chopped pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, and ham. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the filling to half of the pizza dough (divide between each individual circle if you're making individual calzones). Leave some room around the edges so you can seal the calzones shut.
Once filled, carefully fold the other half of the dough over and crimp the edges together to seal. Brush the calzone with the egg and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.
Allow the calzone to cool for a bit before serving. Then, serve warm with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.
Italian Easter Pie Calzone
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ball of premade pizza dough brought to room temperature
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup pepperoni slices chopped
- 1/4 cup salami chopped
- 1/4 cup prosciutto chopped
- 1/4 cup ham chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg beaten
- Marinara sauce for dipping.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal balls.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Stir in garlic, pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, and ham. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stretch the dough balls into round, flat circles.
- Spoon the filling onto half of the dough leaving room around the edge for sealing.
- Carefully fold the other half of the dough over and crimp the edges. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Brush egg over the top of the calzones.
- Place calzones in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and dough is golden brown on the outside.
- Allow the calzones to cool down for a few minutes before serving.
- Serve warm with marinara sauce for dipping.
There's a lot going on inside this calzone, but it's so, so good! It's a delicious twist on Italian Easter Pie that's perfect for pizza night or any night! Make one big calzone or four individual ones with this recipe.
Did you make this Italian Easter Pie Calzone recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
