Clean Eating Turkey and Spinach Calzones

Forget about buying pre made pizza pockets – you can actually make your own and keep them on hand in the freezer to pull out for a meal. If you’re more of a pizza aficionado, you can use this same dough to make two thin-crust pizzas. Add your toppings and bake at 550°F for 9 to 11 minutes on a pizza stone.

Serves: 8
Hands-on Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 3/4 cups white whole-wheat flour, plus additional for dusting
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
• 1 tsp organic evaporated cane juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 1/4lb lean ground turkey breast
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 5 oz spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 large egg
• 4 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
• 2 cups ricotta cheese, drained
• 1 3/4 cup marinara sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add yeast and cane juice and slowly pour in 1/4 cup hot water (110°F to 115°F) over top. Set aside until yeast becomes frothy, 5 to 10 minutes, then add 1 cup room temperature water and 2 tbsp oil. Whisk by hand to combine. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed with dough hook until flour is moistened, about 2 minutes. Cover with a kitchen towel and rest 20 minutes, allowing flour to become fully hydrated.
2. Beat dough on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Mist another large bowl with cooking spray. With floured hands, quickly form dough into a large ball and place in bowl. Cover with kitchen towel and rest until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal pieces. Knead each piece into a ball for about 20 seconds. Cover with kitchen towel and rest 1 hour. (Tip: May be made up to 2 days ahead. Mist the insides of 2 zip-top bags with cooking spray, place a ball of dough in each bag and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature and proceed with recipe. Dough may also be frozen in zip-top bags for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.)
3. Preheat oven to 450°F. Mist a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. To skillet, add turkey and pepper and cook, crumbling meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside. Carefully wipe out skillet, then mist with cooking spray and heat to medium. To skillet, add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally until wilted and liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, stir together egg, mozzarella and ricotta. Stir in spinach until combined.
4. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with water and set aside. Divide each ball of dough into 4 equal pieces. Onto a lightly floured surface, place 1 piece of dough and roll into a thin circle, 8 to 9 inches in diameter. (Tip: Keep remaining dough covered with a towel while you roll.) Leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the circle, spread about 3 1/2 tbsp marinara on half of the circle. Top with 1/3 cup turkey and 1/4 cup ricotta mixture. Dip a finger into the bowl of water and run it around the edge of the dough, dampening about 1/2-inch of the border. Fold the dough over the filling and press edges together to seal. Fold edges over, crimping them like a pie crust. Transfer calzone to prepared baking sheet (a metal spatula works well) and cover with another kitchen towel while you work. Repeat with remaining dough and filling (you may have a small amount of turkey left over), placing 4 calzones on each baking sheet.
5. Lightly brush calzones with remaining 1 tbsp oil. With a thin knife, make 3 small slits through the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape. Bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching positions up and down and left to right about halfway through, until dough is golden brown, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes.

Nutrients per serving (1 calzone): calories: 513, total fat: 20 g, sat. fat: 8 g, monounsaturated fat: 8 g, polyunsaturated fat: 2 g, carbs: 42 g, fiber: 7 g, sugars: 4 g, protein: 37 g, sodium: 538 mg, cholesterol: 107 mg

Freeze & Eat Later

Bake as directed and cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap calzones individually in plastic wrap, place in a zip-top bag and freeze up to 1 month. Defrost 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. About 1 hour before reheating, allow calzones to come to room temp. Preheat oven to 350°F. Discard plastic wrap and loosely wrap calzones individually in foil. Place on a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.