It probably won’t come as a surprise that Neapolitan cooks have come up with a vast variety of ways to fry and bake dough. Pizza is, by far, the most famous internationally and most people will have heard of calzones, and zeppoles, but there is much more to the Neapolitan repertoire. In fact, in her masterwork, La cucina napoletana, Jeanne Caròla Francesconi devotes a whole 30 page chapter to the subject of “Pizze e tortani“.
The real cognoscenti—including readers of this blog—will know about casatiello, the classic Neapolitan Easter bread we featured earlier this year. Then there are the savory pies that also go by the name of pizze, the most well known being the Eastertime pizza rustica. And then there are the pizzette, a kind of fried mini-pizza, and then fritelle and paste cresciute, both more or less translatable as fritters, and on and on….
Today we look at an appealing variation on the classic calzone: calzoncini, or miniature calzones, little fried turnovers made from pizza dough, stuffed and deep fried. They make for a savory appetizer or snack.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of standard pizza dough, about 600g (20 oz)
For the filling, one of the following:
- A batch of scarola aglio e olio (sautéed escarole)
- Mozzarella, provola and ricotta cheeses, mixed with salami, grated parmigiano-reggiano and a beaten egg
- Mozzarella, cut into cubes, with anchovy fillets
For frying and serving:
- Olive oil for frying
- Salt
Directions
Prepare the dough following the instructions in this post.
After the dough has risen, form it into balls about 5 (2 inches) around. Let the balls rise for another hour.
Flatten the balls into thin rounds., then place a spoonful or two of the savory mixtures indicated above.
Fold the rounds over into a half moon shape, making sure their edges are tightly sealed by pressing down around the edges with your fingers.
Fry the half moons in abundant, hot olive oil until golden brown.
Serve right away, sprinkled with a bit of salt if you like.
Notes
There are various doughs that can be used to make calzoncini, but a standard pizza dough does very well. You could also use bread dough enriched with a drizzle of olive oil.
By the way, believe it or not, the easiest way I find to stretch the dough into thin rounds is to use a tortilla press. Just make sure to line both sides with wax paper or plastic, which you carefully strip away, as pizza dough can be quite sticky.
Making calzoncici is a great way to use up some extra pizza dough that you may have leftover, but they are so good you may want to make a batch just for the purpose. The first two suggested fillings come from Ms. Francesconi, but my favorite is the old reliable combination of mozzarella, cut into small cubes, and an anchovy fillet or two.
Very similar to the calzoncini are panzarotti, which distinguish themselves from calzoncini by their dough, which is made without yeast, and are cut out a bit like ravioli. But that’s the subject of a future post.
Calzoncini napoletani
Ingredients
- 1 batch of standard pizza dough about 600g (20 oz)
For the filling:
- Escarole aglio e olio
- Mozzarella provola and ricotta cheeses, mixed with salami, Parmesan cheese and egg
- Mozzarella cut into cubes, with anchovy fillets
And
- Olive oil for frying
- Salt
Instructions
- Prepare the dough following the instructions in this post.
- After the dough has risen, form it into balls about 5 (2 inches) around. Let the balls rise for another hour.
- Flatten the balls into thin rounds., then place a spoonful or two of the savory mixtures indicated above.
- Fold the rounds over into a half moon shape, making sure their edges are tightly sealed by pressing down around the edges with your fingers.
- Fry the half moons in abundant, hot olive oil until golden brown.
- Serve right away, sprinkled with a bit of salt if you like.
Notes
https://memoriediangelina.com/2009/08/03/angelinas-pizza-casareccia/
Nutrition
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Thanks, Amelia. I can just imagine how delicious your nonna's must have been!
It's worth searching out, though hard to find, I imagine, outside Italy. Might want to try a Rizzoli bookshop if there's one close to you.
I understand perfectly why they disappear quickly!
Probably… ;=)
And thank YOU for stopping by, Nancy!
I love that you used a tortilla press for the dough, hehe:) But it really does work. Your turnovers sound out of this world! Thanks for sharing Frank.
Frank: my nonna used to make panzerotti, so these brought back memories. I love the idea of using the tortilla press to stretch the dough: what a great, useful tip!
Never came across these before. Sound like great snacks for a party. also really fascinated by the book you mentioned. Going to have search for that 🙂
My friend from Salerno used to make these and they disappeared like snowflakes on a warm day. I'd eat a bunch of these delicious fried treats. The tortilla press is a great idea, one I'd never have thought of.
tortilla press!… good for so many things
– something about this makes me want several, could it be 'cause it's fried?
Grazie, Chiara. Buona settimana anche a te!
They are. ;=) Thanks for your comment!
Thanks, Sandra!
Sono una grande tentazione, hanno un aspetto splendido! Buona settimana Frank !
Sounds yummy!
Very tempting.