What is a Calzone?
Think of the Italian calzone, which originated in Naples, as a portable pizza. They’re made with pizza dough, and typically filled with ricotta and pizza toppings such as mozzarella, cured meat and vegetables, though we made ours with local ingredients like boudin and Louisiana crawfish). The word calzone means “trouser” or “pant leg” in Italian, and it’s created by folding the dough into a half-moon shape and sealing the ingredients inside by crimping the edges. Calzones are baked. A smaller, fried version is called a panzerotti. Similar to a calzone, a stromboli is a rolled-up pizza (or turnover) with meat and cheese that is then baked. While the calzone is stuffed with sauce, the stromboli is rolled up without any sauce inside to prevent it from becoming soggy. The sauce is served on the side.
