Homemade, Grain-Free Calzones and Fresh Marinara Sauce

I really love pizza. In fact, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. Calzones – pizza’s cousin, if you will – are likewise delicious… but how do you make them when you’re living grain- and sugar-free? Well, that’s easy.

The calzone recipe itself is courtesy of the amazing Maria Emmerich, who is responsible for so many of the delicious things I’ve been trying lately (particularly bread-related things), though I’ve made a few of my own changes/additions. As for the marinara sauce, I used a pretty basic formula and found the perfect balance of flavours. These are AMAZING, and really easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need for the calzones themselves:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour (or 1 1/4 cup almond flour)
• 5 tbsp psyllium husk powder
• 2 tbsp aluminium-free baking powder
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 4 eggs (2 eggs if using almond flour version)
• 1 cup BOILING water

For the filling:

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (or whatever variety you prefer)
• other toppings of your choice – sausage, pepperoni, spinach (my fav), etc.

And here’s how to do it:

1. Mix dry ingredients – coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder and sea salt. Please note, you cannot substitute the psyllium husk fiber – flax seed will not work! If you buy whole psyllium husks, please be sure to grind them to a fine powder in a food processor or else this recipe won’t work!

2. Add eggs and incorporate with electric mixer.

3. Finally, add boiling water – it MUST be boiling as that helps dough to rise.

4. Roll the dough out on a greased baking sheet into two separate circles with a rolling pin (or press it with your hands if you’re lazy like me!) and fill one half with cheese and toppings. Then fold over and press closed around edges with your fingertips.

5. Bake at 350F for roughly 50-55 minutes, et voila!

For the marinara sauce:

• 1 tin of crushed or diced tomatoes, 28oz
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp each of dried parsley, basil, salt and black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme and oregano
• 1 tsp stevia (I used one packet Truvia and it was perfect)

How to do it:

1. Sautée onions and garlic in 2 tbsp of your EVOO for about 6-7 minutes or until translucent.

2. Add tomatoes, spices and 2 additional tbsp of olive oil, stir to combine, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes, checking in every once in a while to stir again.

3. Finally, if you used diced tomatoes and/or like a bit of a smoother sauce, throw in the food processor and combine, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. That’s it!

**NOTE: You CANNOT put marinara sauce IN the calzone before you cook it, or else the bottom will become too soggy. Dip it, scoop it in after, etc – it’s just as delicious! ?