I'm always looking for something fun and delicious to put in Kevin's lunches that can be eaten quickly without a knife and fork. These calzones can be made up on a Saturday when you have time and then cooled, wrapped, and stashed in the freezer for lunches later in the week-which makes lunch packing a breeze on an easy morning. They are equally good cold as they are warm, and you can tuck in a little soup or side salad to round out the lunch as well. If the kids have access to a microwave, make sure they heat them up very gently so the outside doesn't go rubbery. In the ones in the photo I used 1/2 whole wheat flour, but you can also use all white flour if you wish.
Adapted from Canadian Living
1 tsp yeast
1 2/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (+ 2 tbsp, divided)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced potato
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp mango chutney
salt and pepper to taste
Stir the yeast with about 1 tbsp of warm water and allow to stand for 10 minutes until it's frothy.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut in the butter until you have what resembles fine crumbs. Pour in the yeast and the buttermilk, stirring gently with a fork until you have a ragged dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead briefly to make the mixture come together. Cut into 8 pieces, cover with a tea towel, and set aside.
Over medium heat in a skillet with a bit of olive oil, brown your turkey until it's no longer pink and cooked through. Add the onions and continue to cook until they are soft, about 3 minutes or so. Stir in the potato, water, curry powder, and peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes or when the veggies are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat, stir in the chutney, and set aside.
On a lightly floured counter, roll out each of your balls of dough into a 6 inch circle. Spoon about 2 heaping tbsp in the center of each rolled out bit of dough, then moisten the edges and fold the dough over, sealing the edges.
Arrange the calzones on a baking sheet, brushing the tops with buttermilk. Bake at 350 F for about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.
These can be made ahead and frozen, then pulled out to pop into a lunchbox. We quite enjoyed them cold as well as re-heated on low briefly in a microwave.
Makes 8
