Italian for Kids: Easy Calzone Recipe and Italian Food Vocabulary

Italian food is a big part of Italian cultural heritage. At the same time, pizza must be one of the most popular foods and, for sure, it’s one of the most consumed and kids love it! Traveling around the world, you can find pizza almost everywhere, as well as buy a slice of pizza at a street corner and in a luxury restaurant. La cucina Italiana (Italian cuisine) is also famous for flavorful pasta, lasagna, risotto, ossobuco, tiramisu, etc. These delicious preparations are just the tip of an iceberg in terms of all that this cuisine offers. Followed by these, the calzone rank pretty high in the popularity chart worldwide.

It is much like the stuffed version of pizza, with similar taste, flavors, and flexibility to choose (vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or vegan) filling as per your preferences. Over the years, people have experimented generously to figure out which food combination works best in this addictive preparation.

Typically, the calzone is stuffed with ham, vegetables, salami, or egg, and any of the cheese that melts well upon heating, such as mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta, etc. The most popular calzone filling comprises fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, differently colored bell peppers, fresh herbs, and shredded mozzarella. However, various regions might have a varying filling that is usually associated with the pizza toppings popular in that region. Like in the US, calzones are mostly stuffed with meats, a combination of cheeses- ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, etc., and a few vegetables. Have your kids tried a calzone before? You can make them as a hand-pie for little ones with simply tomato sauce and mozzarella. It’s also a good chance to add secret veggies and protein to the filling for a balanced meal.

Other popular calzone fillings can include the combination of artichoke hearts, asparagus, differently colored bell peppers, broccoli, capers, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, onion, tomato, zucchini, cheese (Swiss, mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta, gruyere, goat, blue, etc.), and herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, etc.).

Use a wok for stir-frying the filling ingredient, as you need to keep the crunchiness of vegetables intact while preparing the calzone filling. This is because the filling ingredients will be cooked again in the oven when the bread dough bakes. Find the best wok buying options here; you will be amazed by the best reviews and purchase guide mentions on this page.

So, now that you are better aware of what all can be used as a calzone filling search for the ingredients of your interest to make one for yourself today!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)

Impasto per pizza

• 50g cottage cheese, small cubes

fiocchi di latte 

• 1 small red onion, chopped

Cipolla rossa

• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped

Peperone rosso

• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

Peperone giallo

• 1 small capsicum, chopped

Capsicum

• 1 small zucchini, chopped

Zucchine

• ¼ cup mushrooms, chopped

Funghi

• 1 large red ripe tomato, chopped

Pomodoro rosso maturo

• ½ tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped

Basilico

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

Oregano

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Olio extravergine d'oliva

• Salt, to taste

Sale

• ¾ cup mozzarella, shredded

DIRECTIONS

1.      Preheat the oven to 225 degrees C and grease a baking tray with a few drops of oil.

2.      Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onion until it turns pink in color.

3.      Stir in red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, and cook it for 3-4 minutes.

4.      Season the vegetable mixture with salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil.

5.      Stir in cottage cheese to the vegetable mixture and turn off the heat.

6.      Roll the pizza dough into ¼ inch thick circle and cut out 3-4 equal-sized circles from it.

7.      Equally divide and put the cooked filling at the center of each dough rounds.

8.      Top the filling with an equal quantity of mozzarella cheese.

9.      Now, pull half of the unfilled dough over the filled half and seal edges of each dough round to get half-moon shaped calzone pockets. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and filling.

10.  Carefully transfer the calzones onto the prepared baking tray and bake them for about 15 minutes or until golden in color.

11.   Serve hot and enjoy!

Photo by Roberto Valdivia on Unsplash

10 Great Kids Books With Global Appeal

Sail away with your kids to magical lands across the sea – just by picking up a book. These 10 great kids books will give your family a glimpse of cultures and a taste of languages around the world. You can read all of them in English, but if you’re feeling up to it, several (such as the French classic The Little Prince) can easily be found in their original language. Whatever you choose, reading with your kids is a great way to bond and let their imaginations grow. Plus, it’s one step closer to getting ready for school, which will be here before you know it.

Europe

1. The Adventures of TinTin (Belgium) – A dog and his intrepid young reporter owner solve mysteries around the world – the comic strip imagery is especially popular with young children; and the comics are also available in French.

2. The Little Prince – A lovely French classic that tells the story of an aviator who meets a prince from a distant asteroid while stranded in the desert. This is a good one to try in French if you can.

3. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Take a trip through Paris with the vivid pencil images in this imaginative story of Hugo, a boy who lives in a train station in Paris, and the friend who helps uncover his mechanical secret.

4. Strega Nona—Although written in English, this is the tale of an Italian “Grandma Witch” who lives in Calabria and makes enough pasta to bury an entire town. There are more than a dozen Strega Nona stories to keep the pasta-fueled fun going.

Scandinavia

5. Pippi Longstocking –Sweden’s contribution to global kids’ imaginations is this firecracker of a main character, a red-headed 9-yr-old with a with a suitcase full of gold, a pet monkey, and horse on her front porch. A great read out loud book that will make you and your kids laugh out loud.

6. The Moomins – A Swedish/Finnish illustrated collection of books about a family of animal-like creatures. The pictures are sure to captivate kids, and if they really love it, there’s even a Moomin theme park in Finland!

Asia

7. Lon Po Po – A Red Riding Hood Story from China – In this Chinese reworking of the classic Grimm fairytale, three sisters in rural China outwit the (heads up, relatively scary looking) Lon Po Po (Granny Wolf). Great for kids who like their stories to keep them on the edge of their seat.

8. The REAL Story of Stone Soup – Another children’s classic story with a Chinese twist. This time three clever brothers turn stones into egg drop soup – keep an eye out for Chinese vocabulary sprinkled throughout the story.

Africa

9. Anansi The Spider – From West Africa comes this Ashanti fable of a small spider who must make a big decision.

10. We All Went on Safari -- A counting journey through a safari in Tanzania. There’s a surprising amount of rhythmic Swahili vocabulary tucked into the illustrations of animals.

Celebrate Columbus Day with Little Pim

“In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue….” This childhood ditty is often what first comes to mind when you hear it's Columbus Day. But there’s more to the day, which became a Federal holiday in 1934, than the basic facts of the catchy song. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate Columbus’ Italian roots, and the holiday is an important part of Italian-American heritage.  Many Italian Americans festeggiare (celebrate) the day by watching or participating in a parade (New York City’s is the largest in the world), enjoying traditional Italian foods, and of course, recounting the amazing tale of Christopher Columbus’ journey to discover the New World. (Kids especially love to hear about the voyage of Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.)

It’s also a great excuse for any family to practice Italian and cook up a feast.

Get started by having kids, grandparents, parents --- anyone who’s at home --- whip up Marinara Sauce, which translates to “the sauce of the sailors” in Italian. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Columbus Day with your whole family. Have the kids help in the kitchen by adding seasonings to the pot and stirring the sauce (with adult supervision of course). Mangia! (Eat up!)

COLUMBUS DAY MARINARA SAUCE

1. In a large pot, sauté one chopped onion in three tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add 3 cloves of chopped garlic, ½ a teaspoon of dried oregano and ½ a teaspoon of dried basil. Cook until garlic softens, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add 1 large can of diced tomatoes (29 oz) and 1 large can of tomato puree (29 oz), season with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoon of sugar. Stir frequently while sauce comes to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3. Serve over any pasta shape you like best.

(adapted from Around The World Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge)