Every once in awhile there is that food. The one that haunts you and makes you feel like life will never be quite the same without it. Ya, kind of like that borderline personality ex that strings you along…but I digress. This is about CALZONES, Paleo CALZONES, not psychos.
Calzones have that magical way about them, like a unicorn: half comfort food, half gift from the heavens. That beautiful crispy dough with all the perfect meats, veggies, and spices inside. And that gooey cheese. Errr, sorry. Forget the cheese. My bad. But honestly, you will NOT need the cheese. I cannot even believe I would ever say that out loud, but it’s true. You will not miss it. At all.
This calzone was given the “double thumbs up” from the littles which is the ultimate compliment. Each night they get to vote – double thumbs up, single thumbs up, neutral thumb, and thumbs down. So when I get a unanimous double thumbs up, I know it is time to happy dance all the way up to my laptop to record it. Maybe I should call these “Double Thumbs Calzones” – or not. Either way, enjoy!!!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups mashed yuca root (peeled, coarsely chopped, boiled for 20-25 minutes, and drained)
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour (if needed)
- 1 teaspoon garlic sea salt
- 1 pound sausage
- 1/4 cup nitrate free pepperoni, chopped
- 1/2 cup organic spinach, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon organic marinara, and extra sauce for dipping
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- Optional: black olives
- Take your mashed yuca root and blend (in a heavy duty blender like a Vitamix) with the avocado oil and garlic sea salt until pureed like a dough
- Remove dough from blender and set aside to cool
- While dough is cooling, preheat oven to 450
- Now over medium/high heat cook sausage, pepperoni, and onion until sausage is cooked through
- Once cooked, DRAIN ALL GREASE FROM PAN – this is really important that no moisture is left in the meat mixture
- Now add in spinach, basil, and marinara and cook until leaves are wilted and the sauce has been completely absorbed/cooked off
- If you still have residual moisture in the meat mixture which has not cooked off, you can use a towel to absorb excess; trust me, you want no moisture!
- Remove meat mixture from heat and set aside
- Now take your yuca dough and divide into 4 equal pieces
- Take 1/4 of the dough and flatten it into a circle, you will want it to be slightly more than 1/4″ and about 5-6″ in diameter
- Note: if it is too thin your calzone will split open so make sure it is thicker than a tortilla, for example
- Spoon about 1/3 cup – 1/2 cup of the meat mixture onto half the circle, then fold the other half over the meat
- Using your finger or a fork, seal off the edges – your calzone should be in the shape of a half moon
- Repeat with other pieces of dough, filling accordingly
- Carefully transfer each calzone to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned. If your oven runs hot you can lower to 425 but you will want higher heat for this recipe
- Remove from heat and serve with organic marinara for dipping
What do you mean by “cook until the sauce is completely absorbed”? How does spinach absorb sauce? Or do you just reduce it?… I’m a bit confused and I REALLY want to try these 🙂
Oops I saw that you leave the meat in with spinach… 🙂 but I still would like to know exactly what you mean by absorbed (to me I think “sponge” with absorbed. . and there’s nothing spongy in the sauce).
Miranda, you just want to make sure the liquid has evaporated/been absorbed into the meat. You can use a towel if need be to remove the excess.
Did anybody have a problem with the calzone sticking to wax paper?? And will it stick if I use parchment paper?
Only use parchment paper…slides right off!!
Yes!
How crispy does this get? Wondered if you could just flatten and bake for a pizza crust.
Yes Val, I definitely think it could! You would need to get it slightly crispy before loading toppings though 🙂
Amazing idea! Do these freeze and reheat well?
Ya know Candace, I have no idea! We have not had any leftover so far. I wish i could promise they’d be good reheated but I cannot say for sure!
This recipe is GENIUS! I made it for my uber picky teenager and he took one bite and said “Add this to the list.” Seriously, his list is about 5 things. You made it 6. It’s delicious!!
I’m going to practice with the dough technique because I will be making this again…and going through ALL your yuca recipes! Thank you so much for sharing! (Any suggestions for cleaning out the Vitamix??)
Jill
Wow Jill, that’s amazing! I addressed the Vitamix cleaning on my newest yuca youtube, did you get a chance to watch it? If not, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLlRad-egY
I just made these for my mom, and she responded “These are the best thing you’ve ever made” which is saying something, as I cook quite frequently and am quite good at it! 🙂 We really enjoyed this and will be making them again. I am so impressed at the texture of the dough, and how easily it can be manipulated and have some recipe ideas of my own happening using your yuca dough! 🙂
WOAH! That’s quite a compliment! Thanks for sharing!!!
Is there a good sub for the avocado oil? Or should I just stick to it? Thanks!
I personally am a little obsessed with avocado oil, BUT you can use another oil if you prefer! Olive or coconut or ghee!
Thank you very much for the reply! I just tried to makes these and the yucca puree is like sticky mashed potatoes not dough…. what did I do wrong? Is there anything I can do to save it? Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙂
I’m always looking for yummy replacements for our old faves but I was extremely hesitant on how a root I’ve never used before would turn out. However, this recipe was amazing!! I cannot believe how much the yuca resembles the taste and texture of a flour based calzone. My husband and I both loved it!! Can’t wait to try more yuca recipes!!
Yay! So awesome! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Would I be able to sub cassava flour for yucca?
Possibly, be sure to read my Cassava Flour Dough post and see if it’s an option for you! http://predominantlypaleo.com/cassava-flour-dough/
Can I make ahead of time, then refrigerate and cook when I get home a few hours later??
You can make the dough ahead (make sure it’s wrapped tightly) but you won’t want to fill it until right before it goes into the oven or it could get soggy!
I made these a few times, excellent feedback from the people I shared with.. Thank you
Can I substitute the mashed yuca root for mashed sweet potato?
Hi Sam! Mashed sweet potato has different qualities than yuca so unfortunately not that I know of. If you figure out a way to make it work please let me know though!
I made these last week and loved them! I actually only made the dough as I had leftovers I wanted to use as filling but I’m definitely try your filling next time. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe!
Just a heads up – you never mention the coconut flour in the instructions. Step 7 in your pierogi recipe would be really helpful here! (at least for someone who has never made yuca dough before ;))