I had some leftover red cabbage sauerkraut from German Pork Tacos, so it seemed like a perfect time to make a meal inspired by the classic sandwich by the name of the Reuben. This recipe builds it into a calzone (basically a folded pizza pocket). This meal however presented a unique set of challenges because my wife and I are on weekend holiday, and we are at an AirBnB. It’s a great little spot in the Catskills, but I don’t have access to the kitchen equipment I’ve become so accustomed to using. So, there’s a bit of improvisation that you’ll detect in the pictures…but the “method” section is written to reflect how I would make it at home.
Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Pizza crust or dough. If using one of our Pizza Crust recipes, you can get about 3 calzones from it. Cut it into 3rds after the rise and before assembling.
- Pastrami
- Swiss Cheese (American Swiss cheese this time, not cheese from Switzerland. If you’re a regular visitor to the site, you’ll understand why I had to make that distinction)
- Sauerkraut
- Russian Dressing. If you don’t have (I didn’t), you’ll just need:
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Dill Pickle Relish
- Black Pepper
Method:
- Place your pizza stone in the oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F.
- If you’re making your own Russian dressing, mix equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise in a bowl, and then stir in some relish and black pepper.
- Roll out your dough into a circle until it’s to your desired size.
- Apply a layer of your Russian dressing to half of the crust nearly (but not fully) to the edge (or else closing will be impossible!)
- Then, layer your pastrami, sauerkraut, and cheese atop the sauce.
- Fold the top (unadorned) flap of your dough over the filling, and crimp down with a fork to try to form a seal.
- Pull your pizza stone out of the oven, and sprinkle it with some cornmeal. Then, put your calzone(s) on top.
- Poke a few holes in the top for steam to escape during cooking, and stash everything in the oven for about 20 minutes (until the dough starts to brown and gets crispy on top).
- When the calzone(s) is/are done, remove from the oven, and let them sit for 5-10 minutes before digging in.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
