It’s my two favorite things – NOLA and calzones.
It’s that savory pillow of cheese and spicy pepperoni and salami that I love so well combined with the salty, olive oil slathered olive salad that makes a New Orleans style muffuletta so delicious – all wrapped up in one. A muffuletta calzone, genius right?
The recipe plays off the basic concept of a calzone, utilizing a pound of pizza dough and finely shredded mozzarella, along with generous piles of herbs and spices. And then takes the stacks of meat famously found a muffuletta, along with an olive salad to create something of a masterpiece – like imagine composed by Mozart, but instead of listening to it with your ears, you’re listening to it with your mouth. Mozart. For. Your. Mouth. That’s what this baby is.
A few recipe notes: Adding the everything bagel or even a sesame seed seasoning as a finishing touch is a bit extra, but helps give it that muffuletta feel.
The meats suggested here are in no way a must, and can be swapped out for pepperoni, prosciutto, mortadella, and any other selection of fine Italian salami.
And feel free to make the olive salad at home (a quick recipe down below is provided) or use a store-bought. Just make sure it’s not too oily, cause it will make sealing the calzone kind of a headache.
Time You Need
- 20 minutes prep
- 25 minutes cooking
- Yields: ~2 large calzones
What You Need
- 1 pound of pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
- For the filling:
- ~6 slices of provolone
- ~1 cup finely shredded mozzarella
- 4 ounces mortadella or capicola, sliced into strips
- 4 ounces spicy salami, sliced into strips
- 4 ounces of ham, sliced into strips
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water
- ~3 cups olive salad:
- For the olive salad, it can be store-bought in a jar or made fresh. I typically use:
- 1 can of black pitted olives
- 2 cups green olives (garlic or pimento-stuffed are my typical choice)
- 1 cup of giardiniera
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- ~4 tbsp of minced garlic
- Garlic salt, to taste
- ~1 tbsp garlic powder
- ~1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- ~ tbsp onion powder
- Black pepper, to taste
- Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- Olive Oil
- Tomato / pizza sauce of choice (for serving)
- ~2 tbsp everything bagel seasoning (optional)
What You Do
- Preheat oven to 350, line baking sheet with foil, and grease well.
- Separate the one pound of pizza dough into two equal sizes.
- Take each piece of dough, sprinkle with flour, and spread into a big flat circle.
- Drizzle a small amount of olive oil across each circle of dough.
- Repeat these steps for both halves of the dough:
- Add 2 tbsp of minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Spread seasonings and olive oil over the surface of the dough.
- Evenly spread sliced provolone over the surface of the dough.
- The repeat with strips of meat.
- If you are making your own olive salad:
- Take all ingredients listed and pulse lightly in a food processor.
- Spread the olive salad evenly over the slices of meat (portioning evenly for each calzone).
- Top everything with shredded mozzarella.
- Taking one end of the dough, and fold over toppings to seal calzone into a crescent moon shape. Pinch ends together, or use a fork to seal. Repeat for second calzone.
- In a bowl, beat egg and water. Brush top of both calzones with mixture. Season with any additional seasonings or olive oil. Totally optional, but to make it even more like a muffuletta, top the dough with a few dashes of everything bagel seasoning.
- Place both calzones on well-greased baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with pizza/tomato sauce of choice, and enjoy!