Chicken and Parsley Pesto Calzone is a delicious pizza pie with grilled chicken, vegetables and an easy parsley pesto sauce.
Why you are going to love our Chicken and Parsley Pesto Calzone
You can put anything inside that you enjoy
Fun for weekends, gatherings and tail gaiting parties
Fast Easy pizza dough recipe
Delicious parsley pesto
Today we are actually supposed to be enjoying Ko Cakes for this Chinese holiday (Chung Yeung Festival) but we love breaking all the rules.
What is the Chung Yeung Festival?
Chung Yeung Festival is grave sweeping day. in Hong Kong and a public holiday. People in Hong Kong are supposed to be engaging in age-old practices of ancestor worship. However, we all really know that everyone just takes the day to catch up on sleep.
According the to HK Tourist Board, during the Chung Yeung Festival, it is popular to hike to the city’s high points on this day, as it’s believed this will bring good luck. This custom is rooted in a Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) legend in which a soothsayer advised a man to take his family to high ground for the ninth day of the ninth moon. The man complied and the next day discovered that all the inhabitants of his village had been slaughtered, while he and his family had been spared by leaving for the hills.
What are "Ko" Cakes?
In Hong Kong, people go to the great outdoors for a picnic on this day, with many people eating special cakes called ‘ko’. The name sounds similar to ‘high’ or ‘top’ in Chinese and people eat them in the hope of being promoted to high positions. I guess my teenagers had other plans other than eating Ko cakes. A much bigger and savory huge pie like idea....
While we were off walking the dog, my teenage boys had invaded Healthy World Cuisine and it looked like a tornado blew through it.
They have not even started cooking yet and we have a mess. They have torn up the kitchen upside down looking for something fun and filing to eat. They have slept through breakfast so want lunch instead. Ayahhhh Teenagers!!!
Some of the most interesting things can be made when you don't have alot in your refrigerator or pantry. Creative solutions come alive. We made hearty grilled chicken and parley pesto calzones topped with green bell peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese, salami pepperoni and spices.
What can you put inside a Calzone?
You can fill your calzones with whatever your little heart desires but this just happens to be what was available on our pantry shelves and refrigerator today. We also added grilled chicken, bell peppers, grilled onions, parley pesto and pepperoni before sealing up our calzone.
We made parsley pesto instead of basil pesto and it was fresh and delightful. Parsley is such an under used herb, don't you agree? Parsley has a fresh delicious flavor and is perfect in this calzone.
Making homemade pizza over the weekend is the perfect way to celebrate any holiday or festival. Homemade calzones filled with every "Italian" delights might not exactly be traditional "Chinese" food but they sure are tasty and I am sure way more satisfying than a couple of little tiny fluffy "Ko cakes".
I love watching my boys think creatively in the kitchen. They really have a sense of flavors and what goes well together and they both are quite competent in the kitchen. However, they just are under the impression that there is some kind of secret fairy that cleans up after them. Today, the secret fairy shared her thoughts with her clueless teenagers and just like magic Healthy World Cuisine is spotless and clean.
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Chicken and Parsley Pesto Calzone
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 2.5 cups flour
bread flour but can use all purpose flour as well - 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 package yeast
dry - 2 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water
warmed to about 105F -110F - 2 tablespoon olive oil and a little more for the bowl while resting
Pizza Toppings
- ½ pound chicken breasts cooked, pre-grilled (marinated in olive oil, basil, garlic, onion and salt and pepper)
- ¼ pound pepperoni
thinly sliced or salami - ½ cup green bell pepper
chopped - 2/2 cup onion
chopped - 1 cup mozzarella cheese
grated - dried chili peppers
to taste- optional - 1 tablespoon jalapeño peppers
chopped - optional - 1 tablespoon tomatoes
ultra thin sliced Malaysian cherry tomatoes-optional - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
(basil, oregano, garlic, onion and dried sweet bell pepper) - salt and pepper
to taste
Parsley Pesto
- 1.5 cups parsley
curly or flat - 1 clove garlic
chopped - ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
grated - 1 teaspoon basil
dried - 1 egg
beaten - 1 teaspoon olive oil
brush on top of calzone - hot pepper flakes to taste- optional
Instructions
- Make the Pizza Dough: In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt and then add the warm water and olive oil. Mix well and then knead for about 5 minutes until soft and pliable. Place dough bowl in a oiled bowl and cover for about ½ hour or until doubled in size. (I also do not own one of those fancy kitchen aids with the dough hooks. So if you are like me, a fork works just fine and you can get a great finished product with a bit of kneading)
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F or 232 degrees Celsius. (If you happen to have a pizza stone, heat it up in the oven but if you are like me and do not have one this recipe works just fine on a cookie sheet)
- Gather up and prepare the calzone fillings. I sliced chicken breast, pepperoni-salami, chopped up green pepper and onions.
- Make your parsley pesto: In a blender add your parsley, garlic, olive oil, parmesean cheese, basil, hot pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until a nice bright green thin sauce. Set aside.
- Take your risen pizza dough and punch down until flat to get the bubbles out. Place your pizza dough on a greased cookie sheet. Spread the dough out into a 12 inch circle.
- On one half of the calzone pizza, spread a thin layer of the parsley pesto, all of your toppings like your chicken breasts, peppers, onions, pepperoni-salami, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and spices. Do not overload as you will have difficulty folding over and sealing your calzone. Leave at least one inch empty around the sides of the calzone to allow for sealing.
- Brush around the edges of the pizza with your egg wash. Pull over the empty side of the calzone over the side with all of the fillings and press down and around. I used the fold over technique to seal my calzone. You fold over the edge while holding on to the edge and then move along and fold over and new portion of the edge until it is sealed. You could also use a fork to seal the edges or whatever way works best for you.
- Brush the calzone with a little olive oil and seasonings of choice. My boys wanted dried red peppers but maybe you would like a little garlic salt or oregano.
- Bake calzone for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and it sounds like a thud when you tap it with your fork. (I know that sounds like odd advise but it really does make a thud sound when you tap it when it is perfectly cooked. )
dianeskitchentable says
And happy Chung Yeung Festival to you too. Now I know where the term'head for the hills" came from. Of course your boys would be creative in the kitchen, just look at their roll model. Those calzones look great and now I've got a major craving for some. About those magic cleaning fairies...wonder how I would go about finding some for here.
Dawn says
This is making me so hungry!! Fortunately I have Trader Joes with their delicious pre-made pizza crust, that is perfect for calzones!!
Lail | With A Spin says
Love parsley. Haven't had calzones for a while and it's about time to make some. Thanks for sharing.
wok with ray says
Oh how I love calzone but never had it with chicken and pesto. Yours look very tempting and delicious. I'm sure this would be a hit in my house. Have a good week, Bam! 🙂
rika@veganmiam says
I've never knew that Oct 14. was a public holiday in HK. I have yet visit HK and would love to one day! The Festival sounds lovely! Yesterday was a strange one, I didn't know Buenos Aires had a holiday, too just like the U.S., there weren't busy people walking around downtown, it was as quiet as a library. I had to wait for my housekeeper all day, and I received an e-mail from the landlord that she won't be coming in due to a holiday. I've felt like I wasted a day, but I was glad I didn't venture out to try new vegan eats otherwise most are closed.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Asia compared to the US has so many holidays. However, other than the HK banks and maybe the libraries everything else is open and everything is hustling. With 8 million people off work, it is busy!
Norma Chang says
Don't you wish the secret fairy had shared her thoughts with her clueless teenagers sooner? But better late than never and they may not have been ready sooner, with teenagers, timing is everything.
Good looking calzone and am sure it was delicious. Your last minute creative kitchen meals amazes me.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Teenagers must also have this impairment called short term memory loss. Are you at all familiar with this syndrome? LOL They needs lots of reinforcements and reminders but they really are the sweetest boys. I wish I had some of your garden harvest to put on my calzone! Take Care, BAM
gardenfreshtomatoes says
YUM!
Fine Dining at Home (@fdathome) says
Looks like my new favourite pizza. I love chicken and pesto one of the best combinations.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I'll bet mum cleaned up the kitchen to her exacting standards. 🙂 I LOVE this lunch almost as much as I loved the stuffed meatballs.
Eha says
A colourful, fun and appetizing calzone . . . and altho' I have made all kinds of pesto, I seem to have forgotten the simplest one with parsley, a herb I DO love and use daily! Hmm, 14th October: both my darling father and older daughter were born on the day . . . and my closest beloved girlfriend died . . . so a mix to live thru' every year . . .
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you Eha! Parsley has been very fresh at the markets lately and so has the cilantro and I love them both. Happy belated birthdays to your loved one's. Wishing you a super week. BAM
nancyc says
I have parsley growing in a pot, so this would be a great recipe for me to use that in!
kitchenriffs says
I totally agree parsley doesn't get enough love. It has outstanding flavor - we always have some growing in our garden, so it's fresh. Anyway, great calzone. And you got your boys to clean the kitchen? Your secret fairy has some juice!
Jo (http://blog-diggidy.com) says
Your calzone looks lovely...and delicious! And I love hearing about HK rituals. xo
Kristy says
So did the boys really clean up the kitchen? You'll have to share your secret! Sounds like a great day off for everyone - an enjoyable hike with your hubby and then a delicious looking lunch. It's hard to say no to a good calzone and this looks like a good one for sure! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hi Kristy, it is amazing the things that teenagers can do when they really need to and that includes cleaning. It is a character building experience and one day they will be thankful we made them do chores. Or maybe not, but at least they are more likely to be better husbands one day, I hope. LOL Wishing you a super week. Take Care, BAM
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
What a gorgeous calzone! Love the combination of pesto and chicken. And that pesto is just gorgeous!