Whole Wheat Broccoli Calzones

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for Easy Veggie Artichoke and Olive Calzones on Kohler Created and made them for dinner that night, using spinach instead of olives, which happen to be one of the three foods I dislike (The full trifecta of ew includes olives, blueberries, and fennel). A few days later I was trying to use up all the produce in the fridge and decided to try it with a whole-wheat crust stuffed with broccoli, cooking it the same way I had been to make Broccoli & Feta stuffed sweet potatoes (a new favorite). The end result was an easy, filling dinner that I've made several times and plan on making frequently in the future.

Whole Wheat Broccoli Calzones
Crust adapted from Kohler Created

Makes 2 calzones.

Crust:
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp warm water
1 1/4 tsp active-dry yeast (or half a packet)
1 cup bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 beaten egg for egg wash (optional)

Filling:
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup water
Tomato sauce (I used some from a jar of Muir Glen Garden Tomato I have been trying to finish off)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water and the yeast and stir. Add the flour, salt, brown sugar, and mix with the dough hook until it comes together into a slightly sticky ball. Pour the olive oil on top, cover, and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.



2. While the dough rises, make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a pan along with the garlic and red pepper flakes over medium heat. When the oil starts to bubble, add the broccoli and stir fry for a couple minutes (it should turn a brighter shade of green). Add the water and once it boils, lower the heat and allow to simmer until the water is mostly gone and the broccoli is tender, about 8 minutes.



3. After the dough has risen, knead a few times to incorporate the olive oil, and divide into two balls and roll each into a long, ovalish shape. Add the filling and fold the top over
and seal.





4. Brush tops with egg wash (if desired) and bake for 18-22 minutes and serve.

Open-faced Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheese Sandwich

Yes, another broccoli recipe. What can I say? I LOVE BROCCOLI. This is a simple sandwich recipe that is easy to customize. I plan to trying different vegetables, cheeses, and spices, but as is, it is the perfect meal for a cold winter day. It makes 4 servings that are perfect to serve with a salad or soup. If this is all you are having though, I'd serve it for two.

Open-faced Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheese Sandwich
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Cooking for Health

1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
3 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/1 tsp salt
Red Pepper flakes to taste
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary or basil
2 tbsp water
3/4 cup grated provolone cheese
4 slices whole grain bread



Heat the olive oil on a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, broccoli, bell peppers, salt, red pepper flakes, and rosemary. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the water, cover, and cook for about 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.



While the vegetables are cooking, sprinkle the cheese over each slice of bread and melt in the broiler or toaster oven. Top with the cooked veggies.

Broccoli Spinach Soup

After all those cakes and cupcakes, I really needed something green. So the other day when Joy the Baker posted this lovely little Broccoli Arugula soup, I ran over to the Seward Co-op to gather the ingredients. While I do love arugula, once I was there I decided I would rather not buy an entire package of it and be forced to eat arugula every day until I resented it. So instead, I went with spinach, which comes in bulk and the amount for this recipes came out to about fifty cents (and was probably more than a cup since I am terrible at eyeballing such things). That and broccoli were all I needed, the rest of the ingredients are staples I always keep on hand.

There aren't any pictures of the finished product. You know what that means: It. was. good. I gobbled it up before I could remember to grab my camera (and also before I added the squeeze of lemon, but that was rectified for the last half of the bowl at least). Keep this recipe in mind if you ever make an Irish Car Bomb Cake and need some vegetables in your system to counteract the sugar, stat.

Broccoli Spinach Soup
Adapted from Joy the Baker's Broccoli Arugula Soup who adapted it from goop.com

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water (I used 2 cups veggie stock with .5 cups water. I definitely recommend using stock over water in any recipe.)
1 cup baby spinach
splash of lemon juice (fresh is best)

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and broccoli and cook until the broccoli is bright green. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, and stock or water and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender.

Transfer the contents into a food processor or blender (two batches might work best, I did one in my food processor but made a little mess), add in the spinach, and blend until smooth. Makes two servings. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice mixed in and a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche.

PS- I did grab this shot of the leftovers the next day: