If a calzone and a pizza had a baby, it would be called an Open Face Calzone. Our Open Face Mushroom and Sausage Calzone is a treasure trove of flavors and texture set in a crunchy and airy crust that will rock your taste buds with every bite.
Craving rustic comfort food with a modern twist? Look no further than our Open Face Sausage & Mushroom Calzone! This reimagined Italian American classic features a light yet crunchy crust cradling a blend of exquisite and hearty flavors. Savor the simple yet complex combination of Italian sausage, the earthy richness of sautéed mushrooms and bursts of juicy cherry tomatoes. All nestled in a velvety, stretchy cheese blanket that binds it all together. Each bite is a perfect blend of texture and taste, guaranteed to satisfy your soul and fill your belly.
What is an Open Face Calzone?
This clever twist on the classic calzone uses the same delicious ingredients, but keeps the top open for two amazing reasons:
1. Eye Catching Appeal: Let’s face it, food presentation matters. This open layout lets you get creative with your toppings and unleash your creativity, crafting a dish that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.Get ready for Instagram-worthy food moments!
2. Leak-Proof Perfection: No more wrestling with messy fillings or leakage where most of your filling winds up outside your calzone! The open top ensures everything stays neatly nestled within the crust, so you can enjoy every bite without the worry of a molten cheese explosion.
We love these open-faced calzones for their stunning visuals and effortless prep. They’re the perfect blend of fun, flavor, and mess-free enjoyment!
Where did Calzones Originate? Are they Italian?
They can be traced back to Naples in the 1700’s, so yes they are Italian. Back then, they were prepared much smaller than what we think of today and the filling often included anchovies. Calzone translates to pants or trousers and consists of pizza ingredients stuffed into pizza dough making them easier to eat on the street. They are usually baked but can also be fried and can be stuffed with virtually anything. Traditional fillings include ricotta, mozzarella and a slice of ham. Marinara can be included inside, but we prefer having a small bowl of sauce for dipping.
Are Calzones Made with Pizza Dough?
Calzone are basically a stuffed pizza, so yes the dough used is pizza dough. Try our 90 pizza dough recipe for a simple and easy way to make a homemade calzone.
Are Calzone and Stromboli the same?
Both of these Italian American classics can be described as similar, but these are distinct dishes with unique histories.
Calzone: This Italian creation boasts a round dough pocket folded over to hold its savory treasures. Imagine a half-moon of pizza goodness filled with meats, cheese, and maybe even veggies.
Stromboli: This American invention by Italian immigrants features a square pizza dough base topped with fillings, rolled up like a cigar, and baked. Think of it as a handheld pizza roll bursting with flavor.
So, while they may share some similarities, both dishes offer their own delicious twists. Choose the calzone for its classic, pocket shaped cheesey goodness, or opt for the stromboli’s rolled-up convenience. Either way, you’re in for a treat!
Fillings for a calzone
Traditional fillings are ricotta, mozzarella and a slice of ham. However, just like pizza, your options for fillings are endless. Consider modifying the cheese. Smoked mozzarella or Gouda will yield a magnificent smoky flavor. Some cheddar and buffalo seasoned chicken will give your stuffed pizza an American personality. Our recipe uses sausage, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for a fantastic savory combination. Classically, they were seasoned with a touch of anchovies for a uniquely different flavor. Vegetarian? Eliminate the sausage or try a plant-based variety. How about using eggplant, broccoli or spinach instead!
By no means should you feel restrained by what we discuss above. Feel free to experiment with fillings you find desirable. Please let us know what you tried and how it turned out. We may even write an update and try making your creation. Remember to simplify the preparation, try making them open faced as we have in this recipe for a modern twist to this classic stuffed pizza. Lastly, don’t forget the marinara for dipping!
Can I make my Calzone in an Air Fryer?
Thinking of whipping up some calzones in your air fryer? This is a great idea as air fryers are a great way to achieve that crispy, golden crust, but in this instance size matters! If you keep your calzones on the smaller side, similar to an empanada, they should fit comfortably in your air fryer and cook perfectly. Forget about replicating those jumbo pizza-sized calzones you see at restaurants. They’re simply too big for most air fryers. The same goes for a full sized open faced version similar to this recipe. The recipe would have to be modified to fit into your air fryer. Think 3 or 4 smaller open face calzones instead of one.
Leftover calzone slices are the perfect size for a delicious air fryer resurrection. You’ll get that satisfying crunch back in no time. Microwave? We wouldn’t recommend it. While it might heat your calzone, it’ll leave you with a soggy mess instead of a crispy delight.
Click the above link to shop for a wide selection of air fryers, or click here to view and purchase the Cuisinart air fryer pictured to the left. While you are at it check out Kitchen small appliances for the best selection of appliances to make the job of cooking easier.
Why is my crust not crunchy?
The culprit of a soft, or mushy base to a pizza or calzone can ussually be traced to either an oven that isn’t hot enough or the pan used. To addresss oven temperature, be sure to preheat and buy an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the correct temperature. If the pan doesn’t heat quickly and evenly, you cannot obtain a crunchy crust.
That’s why we swear by our trusty pizza pan, a cherished family heirloom purchased almost 40 years ago in New York’s Little Italy neighborhood on Mulberry Street. It’s proof that a good pan can truly make all the difference! Invest in a quality pan designed for high temperatures, and you’ll be rewarded with perfectly crispy pizzas and calzones for years to come.
We can’t find the pan we use to recommend to you, but these Lloyd pans have a tremendous reputation. Shop at Kitchen and Dining Best Sellers for the best selection and prices.
How do I make an Open Face Calzone?
To start, you require a single loaf of pizza dough. Our 90 minute pizza dough recipe will yield 2 loaves of pizza dough. You can start with this, or get your dough from the market or your favorite pizza place. Be certain to let the dough rise so it is easy to work and stretch. Click here to view and shop from a wide variety of bread and dough machines used to make our 90 minute pizza dough. With this machine you can have a pie prepared with homemade dough in 2 hours! We have used a reasonably priced Oster machine for years with great results. Click here to shop Oster bread and dough makers.
While the dough is rising, prepare your fillings. Brown the sausage, or if you have leftover sausage from a leftover meat sauce, use that. This is a terrific shortcut. For the mushrooms, sauté onions and garlic, then add the mushroom and cherry tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and basil. When done, remove. Set aside and let cool.
Prepare the ricotta by adding an egg, pecorino Romano cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside. Slice or grate the mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
Once dough has risen, stretch dough by hand, or use a rolling pin. You will have a better result stretching by hand. If you use a rolling pin, after rolling the dough out, cover and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to recover. Transfer to your pan. If the dough on both ends is slightly longer than your pan, don’t worry as you will be pinching them when shaping. Shape the dough into a football (American) like oval.
Place dough in a greased 11×14 inch sheet pan or Pizza pan. Spread ricotta in center leaving about 1 1/2-2 inch border all around. Pull and pinch edge of dough to create about an inch of dough outside of the ricotta. Place mozzarella matchsticks at the edge where no ricotta is placed. Fold over the extra dough with only the mozzarella sticks inside the edge crust. Place sausage and mushroom on top of the ricotta then cover with mozzarella. Season with oregano and pecorino Romano. Brush the exposed dough with olive oil or egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Place into preheated 425F oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until dough is well browned. Want to add a terrific smoky flavor? Try cooking on your grill! Click here to purchase the griddle illustrated to the right, or shop a wide variety of griddles by clicking the link below the photo.
Remove from pan and place on large cutting board. This link will provide you our discount at Royal Craft. Cut the calzone into slices and serve hot.
This is a recipe your entire family will enjoy! To simplify preparation try using our Instacart link below to have the ingredients you need delivered to your front door.
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Open-Face Mushroom and Sausage Calzone
4
servings15
minutes20
minutesThis is a modern twist to the calzone. Deconstructed and delicious! This savory, fun, cheesy delight will absolutely become a family favorite!
Ingredients
1 Lb pizza dough
1 small onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves minced
8-10 mushrooms sliced
2 links chicken, turkey or pork sausage
1 Pint cherry tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
6-8 fresh basil leaves torn or 1 Tbs dried basil
salt, pepper to taste
1 Pound ricotta filling. See recipe below.
1 tbs crisco
1 egg for egg wash
3/4 Cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Pecorino Romano
2-3 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
- Ricotta Filling
1 lb part-skim ricotta
1 egg
3 tbs Pecorino Romano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
- Bring pizza dough to room temperature by placing in a glass or stainless bowl sprinkled lightly with flour. Cover and allow to rise.
- While dough sits, let’s make the filling. Slice sausage or remove from casing if using pork. Rinse and cut about 3/4 of the pint of cherry tomatoes in half. In a skillet, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and heat to medium high. Add the sliced sausage and cook until browned on both sides. Remove. If using pork sausage, add the sausage removed from its casing. Cook and crumble while moving around the pan until cooked through. Remove. Add onions, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes to pan drizzled with olive oil. Sauté for about a minute before adding the garlic. Continue to cook for another minute. Add the cooked sausage back to the pan along with the 8 oz can of sauce. Season with salt, pepper, torn fresh basil or 1 tbs of dried basil. Lower the heat to medium and cook until combined, another 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Allow to cool slightly.
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Spread Crisco on a large sheet pan or Pizza pan. Roll pizza dough in a rectangular shape approximately 17×11 inches. It does not have to be perfect as you will be shaping it into something that resembles a canoe. This can be done on a counter very lightly dusted with flour. Transfer to the sheet pan. It’s okay if the two ends overlap slightly over the edge of your pan.
- Spread the ricotta over the top of the dough leaving about a 1 1/2-2 inch border on all sides.
- Next, fold and pinch one end of the dough together. Do the same at the opposite end. Dough will start to look like a canoe. Cut 2-3 slices of mozzarella lengthwise. Stack them one on top of the other. Slice again lengthwise, another 3-4 slices about 1/2 inch thickness. Working on one side first, line the edge with a few mozzarella slices. Fold the dough over the cheese as we start forming our canoe. Our goal is to make a nice cheesy crust. Continue this step on the other side. Fix the ends if necessary making sure they are firmly pinched together.
- Top the ricotta evenly with the sausage mixture. Make an egg wash and brush the edges of the dough. If using, sprinkle edges with sesame seeds. Top the center with the shredded mozzarella, oregano and 2 tsp of Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese has melted and crust is golden brown.
Recipe Video
Notes
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