Sausage, Mushroom and Onion Calzones

Sausage, Mushroom and Onion Calzones

by Sarah Gillespy

For the calzones:
Whole wheat pizza dough, store bought
1 pound crumbled sausage (use your favorite, I had spicy pork sausage)
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 heaping teaspoon chopped garlic

Shredded cheese (I used 4 cheese pizza mix)

Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper
1 ounce Marx Foods Dried Organic Shiitake Mushrooms

Rehydrate the mushrooms in boiling water. I used the basic method from the Marx Foods website. Tip: I use my coffee maker to boil water fast. It took about 2 cups and about 25 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and slice them. (Get the most out of your dried mushrooms and reserve the mushroom water. Make sure to strain it though because there will be some grit in it. I used 2 coffee filters in a small strainer and it worked perfectly.) 

In a pan, add a bit of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent. Add the sausage and make sure to stir vigorously to prevent lumps.  Once the sausage is fully cooked, mix in the sliced mushrooms. Remove from the heat.

Shape the dough into a ball. Quarter the dough ball to make 4 calzones. Roll each quarter into a rectangle. Divide the sausage mixture amongst the 4 pieces of dough. Top the sausage mixture with the shredded cheese and a sprinkle of the Parmesan cheese. Fold the dough over and pinch the edges to seal. Brush with olive oil and make a few slits on top of each calzone. The directions on the dough package said to bake at 450F for 20 minutes, but I used a toaster oven so it took a bit longer – about 35 minutes. Serve with tomato dipping sauce.

For the tomato dipping sauce:

1 can spaghetti sauce
½ onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
½ Tablespoon Italian seasoning

Fresh parsley, chopped

Olive oil

Add a bit of olive oil to a small saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, cook over medium heat until translucent. Add the spaghetti sauce, turn the heat down to simmer and continue cooking for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Before serving, top with the chopped parsley.