With its doughy outside and the sweet, slightly sour and soft taste on the inside, this Vegan Onion Calzone is one of the Apulian dishes that I most love to prepare, and most of all, eat!
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
Onion Calzone is a product historically linked to the Apulian culinary tradition.
Its smell is unique and unmistakably inebriating.
The onion calzone is available all year round in Apulian bakeries, but it is part of the tradition to make it at home especially for the eves of the Christmas period such as the eve of the Immaculate Conception (7 December), as well as Christmas and New Year's Eve. Not to mention other festivities like Easter and Easter Monday, where in Italy savoury baked pies such as Casatiello, Pizza di Scarola and Torta Pasqualina reign supreme!
How to prepare a traditional Onion Calzone
Like any traditional recipe, each grandmother or housewife jealously preserves her own recipe handed down from generation to generation.
It is no coincidence that every family has its own little variation: there are those who prepare the dough with yeast and those without, those who add oil and those who don't, those who use water and those who use white wine.
And I'll tell you. The secret of its iconic dough lies precisely in the use of lukewarm wine and the fermentation/resting time, which must be long. Furthermore, it is best to roll it out quite thinly; it will still rise a little in the oven and we don't want the dough to overpower the intense and slightly sweet and sour-ish taste of the onion filling, which should also be simmered for a long time until it becomes soft, almost melt-in-the-mouth!
Your home will be inebriated by an intense onion flavour, which will tickle your taste buds and will certainly induce salivation, preparing your palate to receive this wonder of the Apulian tradition.
As regards the shape, however, there is no doubt: it is a closed "focaccia" with a rounded shape and a folded edge.
For the filling of the Vegan Onion Calzone, the traditional Apulian recipe requires the so-called "sponsali", which are nothing more than elongated white spring onions (or green onions, depending where you're from).
Often, especially when they are not in season, they are replaced by golden onions, peeled and chopped more or less coarsely, which are then stewed in a deep pan/casserole dish over a low heat, and enriched with a series of ingredients, based on the preferences of the diners, among which we can find:
- pitted olives (black or green, or a mix of the two)
- tomatoes (in form of chopped, tomato paste or fresh)
- capers (vegan alternative to anchovies)
- grated cheese (which I personally never used, but you can flavour it with any vegan cheese of your choice if you like)
- raisins (another ingredient that is normally used by not by my family)
After cooking it, the "pie" turns into a super nice golden colour, with some darker parts, and a slightly crumbly consistency; the combination of ingredients gives it a salty and sweet-sour flavour that is very hard to resist!!
Vegan Onion Calzone Recipe
Ingredients:
...for the dough...
400 g All Purpose Flour
180 g Water (lukewarm)
100 g White Wine (lukewarm or more water)
6 g Instant Yeast (or 15 fresh)
5 g Salt
...for the filling...
750 g Golden Onions (or green/spring onions)
100 g Cherry Tomatoes
50 g Water
35 g Pitted Olives (good quality, black or green or a mix)
3 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ tablespoon Salt
Pepper
Method:
1. For the dough. In a large bowl weight the flour. With a fork create a little hole in the centre and add the yeast into it. Make another hole in one corner of the bowl, apart from the yeast and add the salt in it. In a jug mix lukewarm white wine* with water (if they're from the fridge just heat it in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds). Gently add the water and wine mixture (please note liquid must be warm-ish but not too hot, otherwise it will kill the yeast!) while mixing the ingredients with a fork (or by hand if you prefer). Knead the dough for at least five minutes and allow it to prove in a dry and warm place for at least 2 hours (up to 5). *if using, otherwise all water.
2. Remove the outer skin of the onions, quickly rinse them with water and chop them into bite size pieces.
3. Next prepare the remaining ingredients: wash and cut in half the tomatoes, slice the pitted olives or leave them whole, gather the capers.
4. Transfer chopped onions in a large pan or casserole and season with 2 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook on high heat for a few moments, to allow a bit of caramelization, stirring constantly. Add chopped tomatoes and water, and mix well. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Check the onion from time to time if they have dried out, if so, add a bit of more water and stir.
5. After half an hour check if the onions are soft (you can cook them more according to your taste or leave a little bite to it). Add the olives and capers, stir well, adjust the salt and cook until juices dry out.
6. Allow the filling to cool down to room temperature.
7. Preheat the oven to 220° C (430° F).
8. Assembling the onion calzone. Gather a 26 cm round baking tray and drizzle some olive oil on the bottom.
9. Divide the dough into 2, and roll each half onto a flour dusted surface into a quite thin disc of a diameter of approximately 28 cm.
10. Line a well-oiled 26 cm (10 inch) diameter baking tray with the first disc, then pour in the onion filling.
11. Cover the calzone with the second dough disc, making sure to seal the edges by adhering and pinching the two sheets of dough together, cut out any excess dough, then crimp the dough by simply folding the sealed edges inwards.
12. Drizzle the entire surface of the vegan onion calzone with olive oil.
13. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes.
14. Allow the calzone to cool down for at least twenty minutes before portioning it and enjoying it. Most people find it actually better the day after or even after a couple of days!
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