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Vesuvio Pizza

a slice of pizza next to a calzone

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5 from 2 reviews

Vesuvio Pizza is one pie that's half pizza and half calzone. It's a fun pizza to make at home, with classic toppings like salami, artichoke hearts, mozzarella and ricotta, although you can use any of your favorite toppings. 

To make this pizza-calzone really easy, use store-bought pizza dough and sauce. 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 pound pizza dough
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup pizza sauce
  • 1 cup sliced artichoke hearts (canned and drained or frozen and thawed), sliced
  • 2 to 4 ounces salami or pepperoni
  • 6 to 8 ounces low moisture mozzarella, grated
  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • Fresh basil and oregano

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 500 F with a pizza stone in the oven. 
  2. On a generously floured pizza peel or cutting board,  roll the dough out into a 12 to 13-inch round about about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. 
  3. Spread the sauce out on the dough: On one side of the pizza, leave a 3-inch border with no sauce on it. (calzone side). On the other side, leave a ½-inch border with nothing on it (pizza crust side). See the blog post above for instructional photos.
  4. Spread out the salami, artichoke hearts and mozzarella over the sauce.
  5. Dollop the ricotta over the other toppings.
  6. Lift and gently stretch the 3-inch border of dough over half of the pizza to make a calzone, sealing it in the middle of the pizza by pressing the dough down with your fingers.
  7. Brush the top of the calzone and the edges of the pizza crust lightly with olive oil.
  8. Very carefully slide the Vesuvio pizza from the peel/cutting board, onto the hot pizza stone. I recommend wearing oven mitts while you do this.  
  9. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and crispy around the edges. 
  10. Top with fresh basil and oregano. 

Notes

If you don't have a pizza stone, you can cook the pizza on an oiled sheet pan

To make personal sized Vesuvio pizzas, use 1/2 pound of dough for each person

A pizza peel is like a flat shovel (like this one) that makes it easier to slide an uncooked pizza onto a hot pizza stone.

Leftover Ricotta Cheese: If necessary, you can freeze leftover ricotta. Here's my helpful guide for using and freezing ricotta cheese.