Silverbeet Calzone (Swiss Chard Calzone)

Sign up and I will keep you updated on my Recipes!

Subscribe

Loading...

You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy.

Subscribe

Loading...

Almost There!

I've just sent you an email to confirm your email address, please click the link in the email to complete your sign up (sometimes this email can go to your Junk by mistake)

Once your email is confirmed, you'll receive a link to my free eBook, if you don't for any reason, please contact me.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.

• Pizza dough – I use my homemade pizza dough recipe, however if time is short use store-bought pizza dough.
• Silverbeet – also known as Swiss chard. You can use the white-stemmed chard or rainbow chard in this recipe.
• Garlic – freshly crushed garlic (or use a teaspoon of jarred minced garlic) adds extra flavour.
• Ricotta – a classic calzone ingredient, ricotta adds a creaminess to the calzone.
• Mozzarella – for the melty gooey goodness! You can use cheddar or tasty cheese instead if you don’t have mozzarella to hand.
• Parmesan – adds extra flavour and deep saltiness as the mozzarella and ricotta don’t have a strong taste. You could substitute with a vintage cheddar, or just add extra mozzarella!

How to make this calzone recipe

Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.

1. Prepare the pizza dough. If using a homemade pizza dough recipe, prepare and leave it to rise for time stated in recipe. If using store bought dough let it come to room temperature before using.
2. Prepare the filling. Remove the stalks from the silverbeet / Swiss chard leaves. Place the leaves into a large heatproof boil and cover with boiling water from the kettle, ensuring all the silverbeet / Swiss chard is covered. Leave for a couple of minutes to wilt and then drain. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much excess water as possible (this will help prevent your calzone from becoming soggy), then roughly chop. Mix together the 3 cheeses with crushed garlic and black pepper, and stir through the chopped silverbeet / Swiss chard.
3. Make the calzone. Divide the dough into 4, then on a lightly floured board, roll out a piece of dough out to a 18 cm (7 inch) round using a rolling pin. Add a quarter of the filing on top of one half of the dough, leaving a space around the edges to allow you to seal (and stop the filling from oozing out!). Fold the dough over and seal.
4. Cut a hole in the top to allow the steam to escape (this helps prevent your calzones from becoming soggy), then brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt – which is optional but recommended!
5. Bake. Place the silverbeet calzone in the preheated oven and bake until golden. Leave for 5 minutes before serving – they are very hot inside!

My recipe notes and tips

• Dough thickness – don’t roll out the dough too thin as it needs to be able to hold that creamy silverbeet filling! I roll each quarter of dough out to a 18cm / 7 inch round.
• Preparing the silverbeet / Swiss chard:
  • I haven’t used the stalks in this recipe as I wanted the filling to be quick and easy to prepare and as the stalks take longer to cook; however I hate throwing things away so you can either add the stalks to this sauteed silverbeet recipe, or stir fry the silverbeet / Swiss chard with the stalks:
  • Saute the silverbeet / Swiss chard: separate the leaves from the stalks, chopping the stalks finely. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a frying pan and add the stalks, frying for 5 minutes, until tender. Add the silverbeet / Swiss chard leaves and crushed garlic and cook for another couple of minutes until the leaves are wilted. Cool slightly then squeeze out any excess water and prepare as per the recipe.

Serving Ideas

These silverbeet calzone are delicious served on their own, or with a sauce to dip in. I based the sauce in these images on my homemade pizza sauce:

• Tomato Sauce Recipe:
  • Over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan with 2 cloves of garlic, crushed. Heat for 30 seconds then add a 400g / 14 oz tin / can crushed tomatoes, ½ tin of water, season with salt and black pepper and add your choice of herbs *. Simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. Can be served warm or cold with the calzone.
  • *herbs: either ½ teaspoon dried oregano, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, or a few basil stalks and then stir through basil leaves once you’ve taken the sauce off the heat.
• Other dipping sauces – if you prefer something a little creamy, my Turkish yogurt dip or this refreshing cucumber dip are super quick to make!

Make ahead/storage

These pizza pockets are especially delicious eaten fresh, however they will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days (great for lunchboxes!). I don’t recommend freezing them.

Variations

This easy calzone recipe is one of those that you can mix up to really make your own – or, as tends to be the case in my house, use up odds and ends in the fridge! I often use pizza Friday to make pizza from leftovers.

• Meat – if you aren’t wanting a vegetarian calzone, add in a handful of roughly chopped cooked bacon, ham, cooked chicken, salami or pepperoni.
• Cheese – feta, goats cheese, or cheddar cheese.
• Extra veggies – fry some sliced mushrooms, courgette (zucchini) or capsicum (pepper) before adding to the filling; or stir through a small handful of finely chopped sun dried tomatoes or chopped artichoke hearts.