This is one of my favourite lunchbox recipes … Cheesy Mini Pizza Scrolls. They are ideal for kids lunchboxes for school or Uni and are also perfect for working Mums and Dads. You can make enough to last for several weeks and freeze them, then simply pop one or two in each lunchbox, either as a snack for morning tea or as a treat in place of a sandwich or wrap.
I love the simplicity of this recipe because there’s no mucking around with yeast and dough and they’re quick to make, saving Mums and Dads that one thing we never seem to have enough of … time. I also love that you can customise the filling to suit everyone’s likes and dislikes by adding things such as zucchini, bacon, chicken or even carrot. And one of my favourite combinations is the recipe below combining ham with three different cheeses … cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella … yum!!
So, a couple of tricks and tips:
- Don’t be heavy-handed with the layer of tomato paste, a thinly spread layer is enough.
- Don’t also overload the scrolls with cheese because it can make them greasy during cooking as the cheese will always bleed a little oil.
- Wrap the rolls in gladwrap and freeze for a couple of hours before slicing and baking. It makes them so much easier to cut and, if you’ve ever tried to slice the rolls fresh, you’ll get what I mean. If I try to slice the rolls without freezing, I invariably end up with flat, misshaped scrolls.
- If you make up a number of puff pastry sheets, freezing the whole rolls before slicing and cooking also means you can control how quickly they are consumed. One long puff pastry roll will give you roughly 11 -12 scrolls once sliced, depending on how thickly you slice them. I find that if I slice and bake more than one roll at a time, these tasty little treats will disappear quickly into hungry tummies and then I don’t have enough for lunchboxes when I need them.
- You can brush the outside edge of each scroll with a little milk if you like, to help them brown, but I usually don’t bother and they turn out just fine.
- puff pastry sheets
- tomato paste
- ham, chopped
- Mixed herbs
- Cheddar cheese, grated
- Mozzarella cheese, grated
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- ** Please Note: I have not provided specific quantities as this will depend on the number of scrolls that you intend to make **
- Defrost the puff pastry sheets and lay on a flat surface.
- Spread each puff pastry sheet with a thin layer of tomato paste ensuring coverage to all edges.
- Sprinkle puff pastry sheets with diced ham, then lightly sprinkle with mixed herbs.
- Sprinkle the puff pastry sheets with a small amount of each of the cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Lifting the edge closest to you, roll the puff pastry sheet evenly to create a thick roll. Wrap the roll in a piece of glad wrap and place in freezer for approximately 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Remove roll from freezer, unwrap and slice into 2 cm pieces. This will yield 11 – 12 pieces from each roll. If partially frozen, the scrolls will cut easily. If the roll is completely frozen and solid, you may need to allow the roll to sit for approximately 15 minutes before cutting. Note: The time it takes for the oven to preheat will be enough time for the scrolls to defrost once cut and placed on the baking tray.
- Place on the prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Once cooked, remove from oven and allow to sit on tray for approximately 5 minutes.
- Transfer the scrolls to a wire rack to cool completely. Place a piece of paper towel on the wire rack as this will soak up any excess oil from the cooked cheese.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. These scrolls are suitable to freeze.
Here are some other great lunchbox ideas:
