Sunday Brunch--Longganisa and Cheese Calzone

What to serve for another Sunday brunch?? With my ongoing fascination of using local Filipino ingredients for western recipes (longganisa quiche, calamansi bars...) I decided to make a calzone which according to my favorite reference (Food Lover's Companion) is a stuffed pizza that resembles a large turnover. I found a very good calzone dough recipe and modified the filling to make it more Filipino in taste:

LONGGANISA AND CHEESE CALZONE

DOUGH

ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR 4 1/2 cups

SALT 1 3/4 teaspoon

INSTANT YEAST 1 teaspoon

WATER 1 3/4 cups

In large mixing bowl combine all-purpose flour and yeast, mix well. In a measuring glass, measure out water and dissolve salt. Pour water-salt mixture into flour and yeast and mix well until water has been incorporated. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Round dough and place in bowl, cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

FILLING

SPINACH 2 cups

VIGAN LONGGANISA 1 pack

GROUND BEEF 500 grams

CHEDDAR CHEESE 1 bar

Blanch spinach in boiling water, take out of heat and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, set aside. Remove longganisa from casing, place in pan over medium heat and cook until fat is rendered, add in ground beef and conmtinue cooking until beef is no longer pink. Drain off excess oil. Grate cheese and set aside.

ASSEMBLY:

Punch down dough and knead for 2 minutes. Divide into 2 equal rounds. Roll out one to about 1/4" thickness. Spread cooked meat, top with spinach and cheese on half of round. Fold over and seal the edges (it should look like a giant turnover) seal edges with tines of fork. Do the same for the other one. Place on a parchment paper-lined tray, brush with beaten egg and bake in a preheated 350 degrees farenheit oven for 1 hour. Slice and serve