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.
More Pizza Recipe Ideas
Hungry For More? Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow along on Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest updates.
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. )
Jasline @ Foodie Baker says
Hi Bobbi, I love reading stories about you and your teenagers! So now the secret fairy has teenagers to help her wash the dishes! 😉 The calzone looks amazing and delicious!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit says
This calzone looks AMAZING! My mouth is watering, I could eat at least 5 of these.
Shirley Tay (Blackswan) says
Mmmmm....... this looks like a cross between a pizza & a curry puff. It's nice to have our boys invading our kitchen once a while; a great bonding session!
mjskit says
I love calzone but haven't made one in ages. This one has really inspired me to make on very soon and this looks like a fabulous one to make! I love everything about it from the crust to the pesto. It's beautiful!
Asmita (@FoodieAsmita) says
Wow Bam,
This looks amazing!
thatskinnychickcanbake says
YUM! My youngest will be home for fall break this weekend, and this might just fit the bill. He can eat like a horse...and your calzone would be very well received 🙂
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
I may just have to borrow your secret fairy for a day or two.. if she works magic like that I may not let you have her back:D I love calzones.. and haven't made them since the kids were small. I just plain forgot about them:) I love what you've got for a filling.. and I adore stories about your boys! What a lovely peaceful walk you two must have had. xx
yummychunklet says
Love calzones! This looks delicious!
bitsandbreadcrumbs says
I would love these calzones any time, any day! And what a great and fresh tasting idea to make them with parsley pesto. Such an interesting festival and also a great idea to sweep the graves in remembrance....or sleep, whatever works! Happy Chung Yeung Festival to you and your family, too, BAM.
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Oh my such a gorgeous filling in this calzone! I bet teenagers can eat in seconds! I love your pesto sauce and this looks really good, Bam! It's lunch time here and without kids around I'm so lazy to stand up and cook for myself (especially no leftover argh). I'd love this for lunch... 🙂
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says
This is my kind of calzone right here! Love all the flavors you put together in this.
Georgina says
Your calzone looks wonderful, and the filling sounds really interesting. Lovely!
Mich Piece of Cake says
I love all the flavourful fillings of your calzone!
ChgoJohn says
Buona sera, BAM! Hope you enjoyed the holiday. You certainly did eat well. Homemade calzones are so good and yours, using grilled chicken, must have been incredible! And I'm with you on the use of parsley. I use it more than just about any other herb, buying 2 bunches at a time. Have a great week!
Kathleen Richardson says
Happy Chung Yeung Festival to you and your family, BAM! Ahh, great minds think (somewhat) alike. I can't wait to tell you what I did with your meatballs... Hint, it has something to do with calzones, before you even posted that entry.