Healthy Recipes: Corn & Broccoli Calzones

Yield: 6 calzones

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Recipe Description:

These calzones are stuffed with a summery combination of corn and broccoli, but you can use whatever you have in your fridge. Part-skim ricotta and mozzarella make our pizza pockets lower in saturated fat. Plus a whole-wheat crust adds a nutty flavor and extra fiber. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli florets
2. 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears; see Tip)
3. 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
4. 2/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
5. 4 scallions, thinly sliced
6. 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
7. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8. 1/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
10. All-purpose flour for dusting
11. 20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough (see Tip), thawed if frozen
12. 2 teaspoons canola oil

Recipe Steps:

1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 475°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Combine broccoli, corn, mozzarella, ricotta, scallions, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
3. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Place a generous 3/4 cup filling on one half of each circle, leaving a 1-inch border of dough. Brush the border with water and fold the top half over the filling. Fold the edges over and crimp with a fork to seal. Make several small slits in the top to vent steam; brush each calzone with oil. Transfer the calzones to the prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake the calzones, switching the pans halfway through, until browned on top, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Healthy Heart Variation: To reduce saturated fat even further, use nonfat ricotta in place of the reduced-fat ricotta. 334 calories, 2 g saturated fat.

Recipe Tips & Notes:

1. Tips: To remove corn kernels from the cob: Stand an uncooked ear of corn on its stem end in a shallow bowl and slice the kernels off with a sharp, thin-bladed knife. This technique produces whole kernels that are good for adding to salads and salsas. If you want to use the corn kernels for soups, fritters or puddings, you can add another step to the process. After cutting the kernels off, reverse the knife and, using the dull side, press it down the length of the ear to push out the rest of the corn and its milk.
2. Look for balls of whole-wheat pizza dough at your supermarket, fresh or frozen and without any hydrogenated oils.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per calzone: 350 calories; 7 g fat (3 g sat, 3 g mono); 21 mg cholesterol; 50 g carbohydrate; 17 g protein; 4 g fiber; 509 mg sodium; 250 mg potassium

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (35% daily value), Calcium (25% dv), Vitamin A (20% dv).

3 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 medium-fat protein