Dinner Rush! Italian Combo Calzone

Spoiler alert: Italian Combo Calzone is a shorter way of saying “you’ve earned something delicious for dinner tonight.”

Borrowing inspiration from a classic Italian combo sub, this almost effortless calzone packs not just one but three different meats. It’s easily prepared with some store-bought pizza dough, and it has an ingredient list that requires virtually no advance prep. This weeknight warrior scales nicely, making it a great fix for feeding an army; it also excels as leftover lunch the next day.

Be sure to do yourself the favor of using whole-wheat pizza dough. It’s got all of that healthy stuff going on with the added bonus of a delicious nutty flavor. Plus, it’ll balance out those few extra slices of pepperoni that “required” taste testing.

Italian Combo Calzone
Total Time: 30 min
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Level: Easy
All-purpose flour, as needed for dusting
1 pound whole-wheat pizza dough
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1/3 pound sliced pepperoni
1/3 pound sliced hot cappicola
1/3 pound sliced Genoa salami
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
20 basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Gently stretch the pizza dough out to a rectangle about the size of a sheet pan. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Spread the ricotta on half of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border bare around the edge. Arrange the meats over the ricotta. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the meats and top with the torn basil.

Fold the bare half of the dough over to enclose the fillings. Pinch the edges together at the seam and fold the edges over to seal. Cut four small slits in the top of the calzone. Brush the top of the dough with the olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until the dough is deep golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Patrick W. Decker’s life revolves around food. Always has, probably always will. As a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and past member of the culinary teams for Food Network stars Rachael Ray, Sandra Lee, Marc Forgione and Bobby Deen, he now works on digital production for FoodNetwork.com, CookingChannelTV.com and Food.com in NYC by day and develops recipes at his home in New York’s Hudson Valley by night. You can see what he’s up to by following him on Twitter & Instagram at @patrickwdecker or visiting his website at patrickwdecker.com.

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