Calzone

I used to love pizza. I can't remember when I had my first bite, not like I do with my first candy-experience (but that's another story for another day). However, I do remember what we used to call pizzas in my house. I think it was my dad's -may God rest his soul- idea and it kind of stuck with the rest of us. He used to call it "en rund en"- "a round one". Probably not the most inventive nickname, but I think it's cute and it became like a secret word in my family. I think dad was pretty proud of his nickname, his very own contribution to the family dictionary.

My favourite pizza growing up was called Mexicana. This pizza had a thin spread of super-hot minced meat and a slight sprinkle of cheese. I loved it, I still love it. And you can get a variety of it almost everywhere in the world. Another kind of pizza that I love is "Kebab pizza". However, this pizza is very hard to come by anywhere else in the world, except for in Sweden. I have been to a number of corners of the world and have never come across a satisfying kebab pizza. Why is that, I wonder?

Anyways, here's my attempt at a Calzone, my brother's favourite pizza. However, he likes it stuffed with ham and cheese, only.

Calzone
Makes 2 pizzas

Pizza dough
25 g fresh yeast
2 ½ dl finger warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
7 dl all-purpose flour

Filling
meat from one rotisserie chicken
1 can crushed tomatoes with basil and oregano
1 small can button mushrooms
1 clove garlic, grated
1 medium onion, cut into pieces
½-1 tsp hot chili powder
salt & pepper
4 dl shredded cheese

Set the oven to 230 C.

1. Crumble the yeast into a small bowl. Pour over some water, and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Add the rest of the water, oil and salt. Put the flour in a bigger bowl. Make a small well in the flour, add in the yeast-mix and by using your hands, make a dough. Add more flour if needed. Cover with a cloth, and set to rest in a warm place until the dough had doubled in size.

2. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients, except for the cheese, in a bowl.

3. Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a flour-dusted surface (preferably a piece of parchment paper). Kneed the dough for a bit, knocking the air out of it. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Keep one covered while working with the other. Roll out the dough into a large disk. On half the disk, spread in layers the cheese, and the filling. Flip over the top half and press the two edges together using your fingers or a fork.

4. Place the pizza on a warm pizza stone, or a warm oven tray and bake for 13 minutes or until the dough is golden and the cheese has melted.

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Calzone