The word calzone comes from the Italian for trouser leg or stocking- possibly because we fill them, like a stocking, or possibly because you can eat them on the move.
Ragu Calzone
This ragu calzone is undoubtedly delicious but maybe one you want to grab a knife and fork and sit down with instead! Or at the very least, don’t wear a white tee shirt!
[start]1. For the ragu;
-Put the bacon lardons into a cold pan over a medium low heat and allow the fat to render out for around 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
-Add the diced veg, a little splash of olive oil and season lightly. Add the bay and rosemary and continue to cook the veg, stirring often, until softened, about 12-15 minutes.
-Add the beef mince and season again. Continue to cook, stirring regularly until the meat has begun to brown- about 8-10 minutes.
-Add the tomato puree and cook out until everything is brick coloured- about 4-5 minutes.
-Add the white wine and turn the heat up to medium high- we want the wine to deglaze the pan and pull off that beautiful fond that is getting stuck to the bottom of the pan, so use a wooden spoon to scrape this away and into the mix.
-Once the wine has almost completely reduced, add the milk and allow to reduce down to almost nothing as well.
-Add the tinned tomatoes and break them up with a spoon before adding about 300g of water or stock. Stir to combine and check the seasoning again.
- Bring to a simmer before adding the basil and parmesan rind and leave to blip away for at least 2 hours, topping up with stock or water as needed.
-Remove the parmesan ring and herbs, give the seasoning one final check and leave to cool completely- we want the ragu to be fridge cold before filling our calzone.
2. For the calzone;
-To make the calzone, open up a 230-250g Neapolitan dough ball into a pizza skin- slightly smaller than you would for a pizza as we don’t want it too thin!
- Spoon in a line of ragu across the centre- around 4-5 tbsp, and top with a couple of basil leaves and mozzarella. Make sure to leave border of around 4cm around the outside.
-Fold the dough over towards you and use the butt end of a pizza wheel to stick the dough together all the way round- it should look like a classic calzone or Cornish pasty at this point!
-Cut the excess dough away from the crimped edge so you’re left with a beautiful looking sealed parcel and pierce the top 2 or 3 times with a skewer to allow the steam to escape.
-Turn a preheated, hot Roccbox flame down to its lowest setting before popping the calzone onto a floured peel and launching into the front third of the oven.
-Bake for 2 1/2 – 3 minutes rotating and turning as required.
-When the calzone comes out the oven, grate over a little parmesan and get stuck in!
[end]Ingredients
For the ragu;
6 Rashers Streaky Bacon, cut into lardons
1 Red Onion, finely diced
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 Carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 Celery Sticks, finely diced
1 Tbsp Celery Leaves, chopped
1 Bay Leaf
1 Sprig Rosemary
500g Beef Mince
1/2 Tbsp Tomato Puree
90ml Whole Milk
250ml White Wine
1 x 400g Tin Peeled Plum Tomatoes
3-4 Basil Sprigs
Parmesan Rind (if available)
For the calzone;
Neapolitan Dough Balls
Mozzarella
Basil Leaves
Grated Parmesan