Spinach Calzones

The tour begins. San Diego first — home turf. The reading was at a bookstore in the Gaslamp Quarter, and Emily, Pri, Jessica, Christine, and Ava all came. Front row. My people. I read the pot roast headnote. Pri cried. Emily cried. Jessica pretended not to cry. Christine — who doesn't know my military wife history as deeply as the others — cried the hardest. The headnote does this. The headnote is designed to break you open so the recipe can get in. Signed 120 books. My hand cramped. A small price. The best moment: a young military wife, maybe twenty, approached the table. She had a baby in a carrier and eyes that looked like they'd been crying for days. 'I'm alone,' she said. 'My husband deployed last week. I don't know how to cook. I don't know how to do any of this.' I signed her book. I wrote inside the front cover: 'You can do this. Start with page 12 — the crockpot chicken. It's the easiest recipe in the book. And it gets better. I promise. — Rachel.' She read it and her eyes filled up and she said 'Thank you.' That's the girl I was. Twenty. Alone. Pregnant. Calling Mom every night. She's why I wrote the book. She's every copy sold. Made Mom's crockpot chicken tonight. Page 12. The easiest recipe. For the girl who is alone and doesn't know how to cook. The tour. The girl. Page 12. This is why.

I came home from the Gaslamp Quarter signing and I needed to cook something — something warm and forgiving, something that would hold together even if you’re shaky and unsure of yourself in the kitchen. These spinach calzones are that. They’re the kind of recipe that looks like you know what you’re doing even when you don’t, and that matters when you’re alone and twenty and just trying to get dinner on the table. I made them for her tonight, that girl with the baby and the red eyes, the one who is me twenty years ago — because everyone deserves a meal that feels like someone is rooting for them.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 22 min | Total Time: 42 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb store-bought pizza dough (or homemade), at room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Make the filling. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the squeezed-dry spinach and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Mix the cheeses. In a large bowl, stir together ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Fold in the spinach-garlic mixture, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes if using. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the dough. On a lightly floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a circle roughly 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
Fill and fold. Spoon a generous 1/2 cup of filling onto one half of each dough circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly to seal, then crimp with a fork.
Egg wash and vent. Transfer calzones to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Cut 2 small slits in the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape.
Bake. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the calzones are deep golden brown and the crust sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Rest and serve. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting — the filling will be very hot. Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spinach Calzones — The Recipe I Made for the Girl I Used to Be