Sweet Potato and Mozzarella Calzone

A food of convenience, calzoni are the last word in edible portability. In essence a type of Italian street food, these “bread pasties” have become increasingly popular in the UK and beyond. It’s a rather intriguing – though welcome – development that both local and national pizzerias and Italian restaurants have begun offering calzoni alongside their usual fare. After all, a calzone is probably best suited to the busy lunch hour, dispensed by a market vendor to the satisfaction of all. Still, I hope you’ll agree that once open and spilling forth, the contents of my Sweet Potato and Mozzarella Calzone are really rather appetising.

Punctuated by intense bursts of  rich flavour from the sun dried tomato, the subtle notes of sweet potato and mozzarella combine beautifully to produce a comforting and satisfying filling. Relatively dense fillings like this work best in calzoni as you’ll find that lighter ingredients will reduce in size considerably the long you cook them. A half-empty calzone is not something anyone ever wants to come face to face with. Such a development can lead in but one direction – disappointment. Finishing sweet potato in a sealed dough casing, however, serves to seal in its natural moisture, avoiding too much shrinkage and improving its overall texture.

Sweet Potato and Mozzarella Calzone

Makes 5

Ingredients:

• 500g of pizza dough

• 1 large sweet potato, cubed

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 150g mozzarella

• 5 sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 5 tbsp passata

• A few sprigs of fresh thyme

• salt

• pepper

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 180C and roast your cubes of sweet potato in the olive oil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, divide your dough into 5 balls and roll out on a floured surface until roughly 10 inches in diameter..

2. In the centre of each calzone spoon 1 tbsp of passata, followed by a sprinkling of sun dried tomato. Once partially cooked divide the potato among the calzoni, followed by the mozzarella in large chunks. Finish the filling with a twist of black pepper, pinch of salt and a little fresh thyme.

3. Ramp the oven up to 220C/200C(fan). Carefully fold over each calzone and seal as you would a pasty. Transfer each calzone to a metal baking tray or hot pizza stone and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with salad leaves and a little extra virgin olive oil.

Cost: This recipe makes enough calzone for 5, though you could push it and eek out 6 if you so wished. Of course, it’s the sort of recipe that can easily be doubled, especially considering the fact these freeze exceptionally well. Furthermore, these are vegetarian calzoni and, as such, should set you back no more than approximately £3.