Broccoli, red pepper & walnut filled calzones

These are delightful. The walnuts are a crunchy surprise, the red peppers' delicate sweetness comes through clearly, and the broccoli anchors all with a certain fresh solidity. I like to have some kind of sauce with my calzone, but this needed nothing. I think if I did tinker a bit with this recipe, it would be to add just a bit of the lightest, creamy white sauce to bind everything together - certainly nothing assertive. I also like to make the entire recipe of calzone dough, then fill the other 4 with some other filling - in this case, a rich mix of crumbled tempeh with sauteed onion, garlic, green pepper, and a serving's worth of my frozen spaghetti sauce, spiced up with a substantial pinch of red pepper flakes. Another good filling, a marinara, is here, though I can't resist playing with it.

I added a full scoop of nutritional yeast to each filling, and stirred some turmeric, cayenne, and sesame seeds into the dough - the result was great. These freeze very well, and one absolutely makes a meal.

1/2 recipe of Whole Wheat Calzone Dough
1/2 cup walnuts
2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
1 cup red pepper, destemmed, deseeded, and diced
1 t. olive oil
1 T. nutritional yeast flakes
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. dried dillweed
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Prepare the Whole Wheat Calzone Dough according to the recipe instructions through the rolling out procedures. Cover the 4 rolled out calzones with a clean towel so that they won't dry out while preparing the filling. In a non-stick skillet, place the walnuts, and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer the toasted walnuts to a small bowl and set aside to cool completely. In the same skillet, saute the broccoli and red pepper in the olive oil for 2 minutes to soften. Roughly chop the cooled walnuts. Add the walnuts, along with the remaining ingredients, to the skillet. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and saute the mixture an additional 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp tender. Remove the skillet from the heat, set aside, and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Divide the filling evenly among the rolled out calzones, placing it on one half of each circle of dough and leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Brush a little water around the edge of each circle of dough. Fold the dough over to enclose the filling, crimp the edges closed with your fingers, and then fold up the edges a 1/2-inch to form a decorative border. Transfer the filled calzones to a non-stick cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the calzones to cool for a few minutes before serving. Can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 Calzones

from the Vegan Chef