Calsone

Calsones

Dough pockets filled with savory Tzefat Cheese.

The festival of Shavuot without calsones would be like a groom without a bride—it simply wouldn’t be a festival.

Sephardim like to say, “When preparing holiday foods, if there are no calzones, you haven’t fulfilled your obligation or earned your place at your mother-in-law’s table.”  Calsones (which literally means “Grandpa’s Boxer Shorts” though it’s unclear why) are the thinnest pockets of dough filled with firm, savory Tzefat cheese.  They’re fried in a pan with a little butter to brown and crisp them up on both sides.  A wonderful treat full of calories that take a ton of patience, skill, and time…

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 c. sifted white flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 egg yolks
• water, as needed (will vary based on type of flour)

Filling:

• Option #1: 250 g. (just over ½ lb.) firm, brined Tzefat cheese, 1 egg
• Option #2: 250 g. (just over ½ lb.) firm skimmed-milk cheese, 3 Tbsp. Tzefat cheese, crushed
• Option #3: 250 g. feta cheese, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

Frying:

• 100 g. butter
• 3 Tbsp. corn oil

Preparation:

Dough:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and egg yolks, then gradually add water, kneading lightly with the tips of the fingers until dough is firm but stretchy and not sticky.
2. Cover with a towel and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into the thinnest possible layer.
4. Cut out circles using a cup or medium-sized round cookie cutter.
5. Roll out each circle a little, then place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
6. Seal pockets closed well by pinching or with the tines of a fork to prevent filling from leaking out during cooking.

Cooking:

1. Bring water to a boil in a deep pot.
2. Transfer each calsone individually to the pot of boiling water.  Our mothers used to press the center of each one lightly with a finger to prevent them from falling apart in the boiling water.
3. Boil 20 minutes, stirring from time to time to move them around and flip them over in the water.
4. When they float to the surface, drain and rinse.

Frying:

1. On a large tray coated lightly with oil, arrange calsones in a single layer covered with a clean towel to await frying.
2. One hour before serving, in a large pan, heat the oil and butter over low heat.
3. Add all the calsones to the pan at once and fry slowly on one side only until the bottom is golden-brown and crispy.  This crispiness gives these their special flavor.
4. (Instead of frying, these can be oven-baked in a pan oiled with butter and a little oil at 200°C (about 390°F) on the lower rack of the oven until the bottom side is golden-brown.)

Serving:

Transfer to a large serving tray and serve with a bowl of softened Tzefat cheese.