Description
These panzerotti, or deep fried mini calzones, are an Italian street food and in my family, a traditional Christmas Eve appetizer. I've been dying to share them with you! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb pizza dough
- 2 Tb olive oil, to coat the dough
- 1 quart of corn oil or canola oil, for frying
- flour, for rolling and dusting surfaces
- salt, for seasoning finished calzones
For the filling
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
- 1/2 cup grated low moisture mozzarella
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- The zest of half a lemon (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a pinch of Cayenne pepper
For the tomato dipping sauce
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 1 14 oz can of whole tomatoes
- 2 large cloves of garlic, diced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Place dough in a bowl, coat it with olive oil, cover it with a dish towel, and allow it to rise at room temperature for about an hour.
- Once risen, form the dough into a long log shape, and cut it into 12 even pieces. Use your fingers to form each piece into a taught ball. Align dough balls on a floured baking sheet, and cover them with a towel for another 30 minutes.
- While the dough balls rise again, start the tomato sauce. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté garlic and red pepper flakes for 2 minutes. As soon as the garlic softens, but before it starts to brown, add the can of whole tomatoes. Mash tomatoes with a potato masher. Simmer for 30 minutes (or more) partially covered. Set aside until ready to eat.
- Make the calzone filling. Combine the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, lemon zest, parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a medium bowl.
- Make the calzones. Roll out each dough ball into a flat circle, place 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center of each. Use your fingers to dab water around the outside of the circle. Then fold the dough over, press it shut, and pinch and curl along the edges to seal.
- Fry the calzones. Line a large plate with paper towels. Heat the canola oil in a medium 3-quart sauce pan until it reaches 300 degrees, then begin frying the calzones, 2 at a time, until golden brown all over. Place finished calzones on the paper towel lined platter and immediately dust each with a pinch of salt
- Serve the calzones alongside the spicy tomato sauce and indulge!
Keywords: deep fried calzones, mini deep fried calzones, mini calzones, panzerotti, deep fried mini calzones, panzerotti recipe