Creating the Calzone

In the center of Loveland, on the shores of its eponymous lake, sits a little pizza shop. They make their own ingredients, import San Marzano tomatoes all the way from Italy and sell pizzas by the slice every day. Their signatures include a bruschetta pizza with marinated fresh tomatoes, a bianca pizza with creamy ricotta cheese and a stuffed spinach pizza with a side of dipping sauce. Arte Pizzeria’s hours and options have been confined by the ongoing pandemic, so fans have had to turn to other sources to get their fix. Some even try to recreate their recipes in the safety of their own homes.

This recreation of Arte’s famous spinach pizza is actually a calzone. The recipe began with frozen chopped spinach, sautéed on low in basil-infused olive oil. Oregano and garlic seem like obvious choices for Italian food, but the addition of black pepper and chili powder add a depth of flavor and bring out a brightness in the spinach. 

Basil-infused olive oil may be an intimidating phrase for novice cooks. While there are many proper ways to procure this key ingredient, the simplest and cheapest way involves letting pesto separate and decanting what’s left. The minty hints of the popular herb suffuse in the olive oil, and the remaining pesto is thicker while also being lower in fat. 

This recreation did not follow any set recipe, but no recipe is needed when cooking with the heart. The key ingredient of pizza dough was a pre-purchased mix, which suits the purposes of many college students well. Kneading is a vital step in making any bread, but this quick dough needs it more than most. Gluten may be a dirty word to some, but the stretchiness of that prohibited protein gives the dough what it needs to stretch over the spinach filling. When the dough is stretched out into a large round, it can be laid out to be folded over.

The simplest part of the process is spreading the filling over half the dough and folding it over. The spinach is what makes this calzone unique, but it is not the only key ingredient. A good mozzarella cheese is vital, but what really adds depth are the black olives. Black olives can be divisive, but the fermented fruit add salt and umami to creamy cheese and flavorful spinach. 

Recreating Arte’s famous dipping sauce is a definite challenge. The secret of the sauce lies in the meatballs and sausages that are kept warm all day. While at home, store-bought sauce and roasted tomatoes will have to suffice. The crisp crust, smooth spinach and melty mozzarella combine to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.