http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/18/dining/the-pizza-issue.html?ref=reviews

See You Later, Pizza, This Dough Is for Calzones

By MELISSA CLARK

MAYBE it’s the suggestive power of the name, but rarely do I use pizza dough for anything else, even though it’s perfectly suitable for savory tarts, flatbreads and rolls. Once I get pizza on the brain, it’s hard to redirect. Then I got reacquainted with an old friend also made from that same dough: the calzone.

Though it was a childhood staple at my corner pizzeria, I hadn’t eaten a calzone in years. But at a dinner at Lucali in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, I saw one emerge from the oven, a burnished, puffy crescent oozing ricotta at the seams. On the side was a small bowl of tomato sauce for dunking, garnished with a few fresh basil leaves. It was a much classier presentation than the oil-stained paper plate I would use to transport my calzones of yore, and it tasted better, too.

I was inspired. It was time to revisit the calzone at home.

After all, a calzone has many of the perks of pizza. Easy and crowd pleasing, it’s a good vehicle for using up odds and ends in the fridge.

It also has some happy benefits of its own. For one, you can get away with adding a lot more cheese. In fact, it’s practically mandatory. You need to stuff enough ricotta and mozzarella into the dough so that it ripples attractively, rising as it bakes. Unlike an apple turnover, which wants to stay flat, a calzone should peak and singe at the top. (True, you could cram the dough full of vegetables and the like, but if you love cheese, calzones are the place to indulge.)

Another calzone advantage is the element of surprise. Pizza gives it all up as soon as it lands on the table; serve a calzone to a group and let them anticipate the moment when they find out what’s inside.

The surprises continue even after the big reveal. A calzone unveils itself slowly, bite by bite, especially if you’ve layered the fillings with several elements, like sautéed broccoli rabe, olives and three kinds of cheese.

That was the first calzone I made after my Lucali meal, and the recipe is a good template for a calzone of the cheesiest kind. You can vary the vegetable, substituting roasted red peppers, halved cherry tomatoes, grilled onions or ramps, sautéed raw mushrooms or steamed kale for the rabe. Or leave vegetables out altogether. Hate olives? Skip them or combine with anchovies or capers to increase the salt factor.

Pork products are also particularly calzone-friendly. Adding savory bits of ham, sausage or seared pancetta or bacon will bulk up and fortify the meal.

For the dairy eschewers in my life, I whipped up a calzone without any cheese at all. Instead, I piled garlicky mashed white beans and caramelized fennel and onions into pizza dough, baking it until golden. It was full-flavored and soft-centered, not a traditional calzone but a delicious tart-like creation unto itself, and one that I’ll make again.

Taking a cue from Lucali’s Nutella-drizzled calzone, I even attempted my own dessert version. I mixed honey, cinnamon and orange zest into ricotta before filling the pizza dough (the same one used for the savory calzone), then I dusted the top with powdered sugar after baking. A sprinkle of sea salt lent a savory contrast to this most sweet endeavor.

And finally, for those who can’t give up the pie, I offer a pizza-calzone hybrid. Based on an elaborate dish I sampled at Don Antonio by Starita, a Midtown pizzeria, it has basil-perfumed ricotta and Parmesan in the center, and tomato sauce and melted mozzarella on top. It’s the best of both worlds, and an unexpected thing to do with a ball of pizza dough.

Matzo is more than just Jewish flatbread

By BERNARD LEED · Daily Trojan

Posted April 3, 2012 (2 weeks ago) at 10:12 pm in Columns, Lifestyle

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The appeal of unleavened bread might be limited. At least that’s how the food would sound to anyone unfamiliar with the thin, cracker-like matzo, a Jewish dietary staple that makes a resurgence with the arrival of Passover this time of year.

The common explanation for matzo’s origins is that Israelites had little time to flee Egypt during their Biblical exodus, resulting in bread that had to be flattened and quickly baked. Matzo is thereby eaten as a form of symbolic remembrance at Passover.

But for those of you not observing the holiday, or who choose not to keep kosher, the question becomes this: If you don’t have to eat matzo, why eat it?

Answer? The crunch. The wide surface that takes well to spreads. The random bits of baked flavor. These are reasons to embrace matzo.

Another vital reason is its versatility.

Bon Appétit, The New York Times and Martha Stewart Living have all recommended ways to diversify the Seder, the traditional Passover meal. And all have provided funky new recipes introducing flavors like rosemary and olive oil to toasted matzo.

Then there are matzo balls. I’ve written previously about The Gorbals’ bacon-wrapped matzo balls andLukshon’s silky, Asian-inflected matzo ball soup. The writer-historian Marcie Cohen Ferris even wrote the definitive book on Jewish Southern food, Matzoh Ball Gumbo. The title recipe incorporates a spicy Creole seasoning into the matzo balls — just another example of how easy it is to improvise, personalize and regionalize a recipe.

But for the traditionalist, the standby matzo recipes still hold strong. However, you must keep in mind that the best matzo — crumbly and buttery with dark, popped bubbles throughout — is prepackaged.

There are plenty of ways to try matzo, both new and old: An open-faced matzo sandwich is like having a bread’s crust without the doughy center. And for those that prefer this crunch, matzo becomes a worthy substitute.

Spreading some grainy mustard on a piece and topping it with some slices of pastrami and a pickled tomato is the stuff of deli dreams.

Keep in mind that Langer’s Delicatessen has the best pastrami, a widely acknowledged fact cemented by a prestigious James Beard award. Langer’s is only three miles from campus, a distance justified as walkable if you’ve ever tasted its “Number 19” sandwich, which flaunts hot slices of pastrami piled high with slaw, cheese and Russian dressing.

Another favorite is Hershey’s-dipped matzo, in which pieces of the unleavened bread are dipped in melted chocolate and left in the freezer until ready for consumption.

The combination of the two flavors, along with the once-a-year joy of matzo and the childhood memories of a melted Hershey’s bar, provides the teary-eyed, first-bite delight only the most special foods inspire.

Matzo often serves as a substitute for other ingredients, too.

Oats fall into a kosher gray area, so if you have the matzo, you might as well do good with it. Matzo granola is a cinch to make, and it tastes better toasted in a skillet than baked in an oven, as granola typically is. Here’s how to make it:

1. Lather a square of matzo with canola oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and generously with sugar and cinnamon.

2. Break over a hot skillet and let cook at medium heat until the sugar has glazed the matzo, and the edges of many pieces turn black, roughly four to six minutes.

3. To finish, add some chopped cinnamon almonds, like those available at Fresh & Easy and some golden raisins.

Finally, there’s matzo brei. Matzo brei gives texture to eggs and a pleasant dampness to matzo, creating a sort of free-form French toast. The recipe — my family’s — is as follows:

1. Break three squares of matzo into uneven, bite-size pieces and soak in warm water for about one minute until wet but not saturated.

2. Take matzo out of water and drain in colander to get the excess moisture out.

3. Mix four eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk until frothy.

4. Add matzo to egg mixture — mix well but carefully, as to not break up the matzo.

5. Heat skillet on medium heat with a dab of butter, enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

6. Add egg/matzo mixture and cook until tender, about four and a half to five minutes, or until desired doneness. You can treat the mixture much like scrambled eggs.

7. Season with salt and sugar or a cinnamon-sugar combination. A side of applesauce is also recommended.

Though using just egg whites is a healthier alternative than including the yolk, the matzo brei will lack significantly in flavor. Texture is important too — the dish is about the doneness of the matzo and wetness of the eggs. You should be appreciating chewiness in one bite, and savoring crisp, burnt pieces the next.

There’s always Langer’s, Nate ‘n Al’s, Canter’s or Barney Greengrass to get your matzo-dish fix too. But when it comes to this kind of comforting Jewish soul food, your own efforts in the kitchen should suffice.

 

Bernard Leed is a junior majoring in narrative studies. His column “Amuse-Bouche” runs Wednesdays.