Calzone Pollo Spinaci
A Lombardy-style filled calzone with a creamy béchamel base, shredded chicken, prosciutto, mozzarella and spinach. The thin dough is folded into a crescent and crisped fast at very high heat, then brushed with garlic butter and finished under a blanket of grated Riserva at the last moment.
Overview
A solo calzone built around a béchamel base rather than the more common tomato sauce, giving the filling a richer, lasagna-like character. Cooked chicken, prosciutto, button mushrooms and spinach pile onto a single oval of thin pizza dough, drenched in white sauce and folded into a sealed half-moon. Two finishing flourishes lift the bake: a final brush of garlic butter and a snowfall of grated Riserva that bubbles in the last minute.
Ingredients
Filling
- 110 grams mozzarella (broken into small chunks)
- 1 chicken breast (small, cooked and torn into thin chunks)
- 2 slices prosciutto
- 50 grams spinach
- 5 button mushrooms (sliced)
- 60 grams béchamel sauce
- Pinch of fresh rosemary (chopped)
Dough & Finish
- 200 grams pizza dough ball
- Plain flour (for dusting)
- Garlic butter (for brushing)
- 1 teaspoon Riserva cheese (grated)
To Serve
- Red pepper tapenade (for dipping)
Method
Stage 1 - Heat the Oven
- Preheat the oven to its maximum setting.
- If using a pizza oven, heat to 300°C (570°F).
Stage 2 - Roll the Dough
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large oval roughly 30 cm across.
- Aim for a very thin sheet so it crisps and cooks quickly in the oven.
- Lift the rolled dough onto a baking sheet or pizza paddle.
Stage 3 - Layer the Filling
- Scatter the mozzarella chunks across the middle of the dough.
- Top with the torn chicken pieces and the slices of prosciutto.
- Add the spinach leaves and sliced mushrooms.
- Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary.
- Spoon the béchamel evenly over the ingredients.
Stage 4 - Fold & Seal
- Lift the empty half of the dough over the filling.
- Press flat with your fist to seal and remove any pockets of air.
- Crimp the edges firmly to make a sealed crescent shape.
Stage 5 - Bake & Finish
- Slide the calzone into the oven.
- Bake until the dough has risen, the filling is steaming and the crust is golden.
- Toward the end of cooking, remove briefly and brush with garlic butter.
- Scatter the grated Riserva over the top and return to the oven for a few more minutes, until bubbling.
- Lift onto a board and serve with red pepper tapenade alongside.
Notes
- Thin dough is non-negotiable: The calzone has to crisp before the steamy filling can sog it. Roll the dough as thin as you can without tearing.
- Pre-cooked chicken: Use leftover roast chicken or poached breast. Raw chicken won't cook through in a fast oven bake.
- Béchamel consistency: A medium-thick sauce (coats the back of a spoon) holds in the calzone. Too thin and it leaks; too thick and the filling feels stodgy.
- Riserva at the end: Adding the cheese late keeps it bubbling and salty rather than baked into a thick crust.
Variations
With pesto: Replace the béchamel with 2 tablespoons of basil pesto for a sharper, herbier filling. Without prosciutto: Drop the prosciutto and double the chicken for a milder, child-friendly version. Truffle finish: Drizzle a few drops of truffle oil over the cut calzone instead of the Riserva.
Serving
Serve with: A side of dressed leaves and red pepper tapenade for dipping Garnish with: A scatter of fresh rosemary leaves and a grind of black pepper
Storage
- Best eaten immediately, while the crust is crisp and the cheese still molten
- Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat in a hot oven (200°C / 400°F) for 6 to 8 minutes
- Not recommended for freezing once filled with béchamel
Recipes mentioned here
Pesto
Pesto represents the height of simplicity: five ingredients (basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan) combined to create a sauce of profound flavor and silky texture. The key to successful pesto lies in ingredient quality and processing technique. Fresh, fragrant basil is non-negotiable; aged or heat-stressed basil creates harsh, off-flavored results. Pine nuts must be fresh (rancid pine nuts ruin pesto instantly). Garlic should be mild and rounded by the pesto's other elements. Parmesan must be freshly grated; pre-grated cheese creates a grainy, inferior result. Traditional pesto is made by mortar and pestle, which bruises rather than cuts the basil, preserving its vibrant green color and fresh character. Modern food processors work adequately but can create a less vibrant result if over-processed.
Calzone
The calzone is pizza's elegant cousin, pizza dough folded like an envelope and sealed, enclosing a luxurious filling of pancetta, cherry tomatoes, ricotta, and basil. The sealed construction creates its own moist environment, keeping the filling tender while the exterior becomes crisp and golden. This is rustic Italian cooking with refinement.
More like this
Quesadillas
Pre-cook any "wet" filling (mushrooms, chorizo, peppers) and cool. Cheese is grated. A dry, hot griddle or non-stick pan heats over medium heat. A tortilla goes on; cheese scatters over half; filling (if any) over the cheese; folded in half. Pressed gently with a spatula; cooked for 90 seconds until the underside is gold-spotted; flipped; cooked for 90 seconds more. The cheese should be fully melted and just starting to ooze at the edges. Sliced into 3 wedges; served with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, lime.
Restaurant-Style Ragù
True ragu demands patience, precision, and respect for the process. Ground beef (or a beef and pork mix) browns deeply in batches to build caramelization without steaming. Aromatic vegetables soften slowly until sweet. Tomato paste darkens and concentrates its flavor through caramelization. Red wine deglazes and cooks off. Then comes the long, gentle simmer, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, where flavors meld and deepen into something far greater than the sum of its parts. This is not a quick sauce; it is an investment in excellence.
Sausage, Fennel and Chilli Griddle-Pan Pizza
The dough is a quick mix of plain flour, baking powder and Greek yogurt, rolled out and griddled in a hot pan rather than baked. Fennel wedges are charred separately, then a sausagemeat-and-spinach mixture is spread over the cooked base with ricotta and parmesan, and the lot is finished under the grill. A 35-minute pizza that doesn't need a stone or a long prove.
Coq au Vin
Lardons rendered, chicken pieces browned in the fat, then simmered in red wine with brandy, stock, garlic, herbs and tomato purée. Mushrooms and pearl onions are sautéed separately and added at the end so they keep their shape and texture.