Pizzollino: a mini pizza shaped like a race car, with cucumber-slice wheels, breadstick antennae, melted cheese, pepperoni and olive details, and FOODMONSTAS Wafer Eyes

Pizzollino pizza car on a wooden board in moody lighting, showing the cucumber wheels, breadstick antennae and cheese-draped hood

PIZZOLLINO

Name: Pizzollino
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Makes 1
Ingredients: 1 baguette roll or similar long bread roll — only the bottom half is needed; about 80–100 g ground meat, just enough to fill the hollowed-out roll half in a flat layer; A little pointed red pepper, finely diced; ½ tsp tomato paste; one pinch each of garlic powder, paprika and dried marjoram; Salt and pepper; A little grated mozzarella; 1 slice of cheddar, for the roof; A few more thin slices of cheddar or mozzarella, to cover the rest of the car body; A few thin slices of mild cabanossi or pepperoni salami, for the car body; 4 cucumber slices, for the wheels; 2 grissini breadsticks or pretzel sticks, for the rear exhaust pipes; 1 thin slice of black olive, for the front grille; A little cream cheese or ketchup, for attaching the cucumber wheels; 2 small mozzarella balls; 2 FOODMONSTAS WAFER EYES, 15 mm

A warm baguette roll car covered in melted cheese, with cucumber wheels, grissini exhaust pipes and two FOODMONSTAS WAFER EYES as headlight eyes.

40 MINUTES

EASY

MAKES 1

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BASE

1 baguette roll or similar long bread roll — only the bottom half is needed

about 80–100 g ground meat, just enough to fill the hollowed-out roll half in a flat layer

A little pointed red pepper, finely diced

½ tsp tomato paste

one pinch each of garlic powder, paprika and dried marjoram

Salt and pepper

A little grated mozzarella

FOR THE CAR BODY

1 slice of cheddar, for the roof

A few more thin slices of cheddar or mozzarella, to cover the rest of the car body

A few thin slices of mild cabanossi or pepperoni salami, for the car body

FOR WHEELS & EXTRAS

4 cucumber slices, for the wheels

2 grissini breadsticks or pretzel sticks, for the rear exhaust pipes

1 thin slice of black olive, for the front grille

A little cream cheese or ketchup, for attaching the cucumber wheels

FOR DECORATION

2 small mozzarella balls

2 FOODMONSTAS WAFER EYES, 15 mm

PREPARATION

First prepare the meat filling: Wash the pointed red pepper, remove the core and stem, and dice it finely. Brown the ground meat in a small pan, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the diced pepper, tomato paste, garlic powder, paprika, marjoram, salt and pepper, then cook for another 2–3 minutes until everything is well mixed and cooked through.
Preheat the oven to 200°C top/bottom heat and line a baking tray with baking paper. Slice the baguette roll horizontally — for this recipe, you only need the bottom half. Keep the top half for something else. Use a spoon to hollow out a little of the soft crumb, creating a shallow space for the filling.
Use a small knife to trim the edges of the bottom half into a rounded car shape — slightly pointed at one end for the front and flatter at the other end for the roof area.
Press the cooked meat filling into the hollow. Use just enough to fill the roll half while keeping the car shape stable — do not overload it. Build it a little higher at the back for the roof area and let it become flatter toward the front. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella.
Bake for about 5–7 minutes, until the roll is warm and the mozzarella starts to melt.
Remove from the oven. Place the cheddar slice on the filling at the back — this becomes the roof. Cover the rest of the car body with thin slices of cheddar or mozzarella, then add a few thin slices of mild cabanossi or pepperoni salami on top.
Bake for another 8–10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
While the car is still warm, attach the four cucumber slices along the lower edge as wheels using small dots of cream cheese or ketchup. Gently push the two grissini into the soft cheese at the back of the roof area at a slight angle, without pressing them deep into the bread. Place the olive slice at the front center as a small grille.
FOODMONSTA STEP: Let the car cool for 1–2 minutes, until it is warm but no longer steaming hot. Press two small hollows into the soft cheddar, or use a tiny dot of cream cheese for each eye base. Place the mozzarella balls firmly at the front of the roof and press one FOODMONSTAS WAFER EYES (15 mm) onto each one. These become Pizzollino’s big headlight eyes.

PIZZOLLINO

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

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