Three-Cheese Eggplant Calzone with Tomato Dipping Sauce

Long time, no recipes! I have been crazy-busy with editing and writing for work, and also recovering from a weird lung infection that made me feel like I was having a heart attack 24/7. I wish I were exaggerating that last bit, but no. An EKG was involved in my diagnosis and everything. It was kind of terrifying in that way only having a medical mystery become your life is. You start hanging out on WebMD so much that everything seems like it could possibly be happening to you, and then your husband has to cut you off because you end up in tears one afternoon because you're convinced you have cancer. Yeah, it was like that.

Anywho! I am finally feeling better now, and I took a half-day to do some much-needed long-lunching (at Titaya's), comic book shopping (at Austin Books and Comics), and blog posting (right here).

So, basically, all you need to know is that this calzone absolutely rules. And that you should use a pizza stone if you have one for a nice crunchy crust base. And that when you're feeling sick and awful, a nice warm calzone goes a long way into making you feel better.

Ingredients
Calzone
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut in 1/4-inch thick slices
Salt and pepper
Pizza dough (I used half of this D:ALS recipe for mine.)
1 cup ricotta
1 cup grated mozzerella
1/3 cup grated parmesan
Dried oregano
1 egg, beaten

Sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes, strained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
Red pepper flakes
Pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Directions
Calzone
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet coated in olive oil. Season eggplant with salt and pepper. Roast for 16 minutes, flip over, then roast for 8 more minutes. Let cool.
-Roll your pizza dough out to about 12 inches wide. Mix ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan in a medium bowl, then season to taste with salt, pepper, and oregano.
-Stir the cooled eggplant into the cheese mix. Then pile it down the center of your dough. Pull the sides of the dough over the center cheese mound, then press and squeeze the sides closed.
-Brush the calzone with the beaten egg.
-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (on a pizza stone if you have one), until golden.

Sauce
-While the calzone is baking, simmer the tomatoes, salt, garlic, some red pepper flakes, a pinch of sugar, and the red wine vinegar in a small pan for 5 minutes.

-Serve the calzone with the sauce on the side.

(Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)