Ingredients

makes about 18 small calzones

　　3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

　　4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

　　12 ounces sweet Italian sausage without fennel seeds, removed from casing

　　1 bunch spinach or escarole, washed, dried, and chopped (about 12 ounces)

　　1 pound fresh ricotta, drained

　　1 batch pizza dough (see page 82)

　　All-purpose flour, for rolling

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

　　

Step 2

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and the sausage. Cook over medium heat, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Toss in the chopped spinach or escarole, and cook, stirring, until tender and wilted, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, and scrape into a bowl to cool. When the sausage mixture is cooled, stir in the ricotta.

　　

Step 3

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 4 1/2-inch round, cut out as many circles as you can, rerolling the dough to get more circles. You should have about eighteen.

　　

Step 4

Fill each circle with about 2 tablespoons of the filling. Brush the edges of the dough with water, then fold over and crimp edges together with a fork. Poke holes in the top of each calzone. Place on the baking sheets, and brush the tops of the calzones lightly with olive oil. Set the baking sheets with the calzones in the oven, rotating the pans front to back halfway through baking, until calzones are golden brown, about 25 minutes.

　　Reprinted with permission from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2011 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.