Beyond Meat Calzones (DF, GF)

First try at making calzones. Not pretty, but very tasty, and not too difficult!

Source: The First Mess | Serves: 4 | Time: 1hr 10 min

Changes: replaced broccoli rabe with baby spinach, and used GF pizza dough

Ingredients

Cashew Ricotta

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or quick soaked in just boiled water

¼ cup hot water, plus extra if necessary

½ tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp light miso

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

Salt, to taste

The Rest

2 Beyond Meat hot Italian sausages, chopped finely

½ bunch baby spinach

1 teaspoon olive oil, plus extra

S&P, to taste

Crushed red pepper, to taste

1 lb GF pizza dough, at room temperature (I used Wholly Wholesome, which unfortunately does have egg and this recipe isn't fully vegan)

Flour for the counter

½ cup marinara sauce

To serve

More marinara sauce for dipping

Ingredients

Make the cashew ricotta. First, drain the cashews. Then, in a food processor, combine the drained cashews, hot water, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, miso, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Run the motor until you have a smooth, ricotta-like texture, scraping the sides down a couple times. Add more water if necessary. Once you have a smooth, slightly grainy ricotta-like texture, scrape the mixture into a bowl and store in the fridge.

Heat a small saute pan over medium high heat. Add the chopped vegan sausages to the pan. Stir and saute the pieces until you see some browned edges, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape the cooked sausage bits out onto a paper towel lined plate.

Wipe out the pan and set it back on the heat. Pour the olive oil into the pan and add the spinach. Stir and saute until stems are spinach is wilted. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Divide your pizza dough into 4 portions. Gently shape the portions into circles with your hands. Then, dust your workspace with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the circles of dough out to 6-7 inches in diameter.

Retrieve your cashew ricotta from the fridge. Place it near your workspace along with the cooked vegan sausage, marinara, and spinach. In the center of each dough circle, spoon 2 tablespoons of marinara, ¼ of the cooked sausage, 2 tablespoons of the cashew ricotta, and ¼ of the cooked spinach. Repeat with remaining dough and ingredients.

Fold the dough over the filling, tightly pinching and twisting the edges to seal. Place the calzones on your prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle chili, salt, and pepper on top.

Bake the spicy vegan sausage calzones for 25-30 minutes, using the broil function for 2 minutes at the end of the cooking process to brown the top if necessary. Serve the calzones warm or at room temp.