Savory Mini Pies with Potato & Asparagus

5 from 3 votes

These Savory Mini Pies are filled with potatoes, asparagus, & a creamy cheddar filling. Serve them as an appetizer or part of an elegant meal.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time55 mins

Servings:

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ pounds potatoes, diced to ¾ inch cubes; use red, yellow, or white potatoes so you don't have to peel them
½ tsp sea salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth or water

To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, paprika, butter, and Crisco. With your hands or a pastry cutter, mix everything together until you have clumps the size of peas.
Now add the water. Start with ¼ cup, and mix until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add an additional 1-2 Tbsp of water. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour, but only about a tsp at a time.
The dough consistency is correct when it all comes together cohesively, and you can form one disk out of the dough. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before using.

While the dough refrigerates, make the filling.
Add the olive oil, potatoes, garlic, and salt to a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Now turn the heat down to medium, add the vegetable broth or water, and cover the pan. Stir occasionally, and cook the potatoes for 12 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce through a piece.
Keeping the heat on medium, uncover the potatoes, and cook for two more minutes. Flip the potatoes continuously to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat, and let the potatoes cool slightly.

While the potatoes cook, prepare the rest of the filling ingredients.
To a medium size mixing bowl, add the cream cheese. Use a fork, and mix the cream cheese in the bowl to soften it a little bit. Don’t worry if the cream cheese is a little lumpy at this point. The warmth of the potatoes when we add them will smooth the cream cheese out.
Now add the chives/green onion, asparagus, salt, pepper, paprika, onion salt, and cheddar to the bowl. (Do not add the egg, milk, or flour yet.). Do a rough mix, then add the potatoes. Mix everything together until completely incorporated. The warmth of the potatoes will help soften the cream cheese and melt the cheddar.
In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, almond milk, and flour. Whisk until there are very few clumps of flour, then pour the egg/milk/flour mixture into the bowl with the rest of the filling.
Carefully stir everything together until incorporated.

I recommend using two standard-sized 12 cup muffin/cupcake tins. You will get a total of 16-18 mini pies.
Spray the tin with cooking spray.
Use a slightly heaping 1 Tbsp of dough per mini pie. With your fingers, press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup.

Now put the filling in each cup of the muffin tin. Use a heaping 1 Tbsp of filling per muffin cup. The filling won't rise much in the oven, so don't worry if each muffin cup is filled to just about the top.
Top each veggie pie with 2-3 tomato slices.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bake the pies for 35 minutes, until the crust is slightly browned, and the filling is golden-orange.

Serve these veggie pies as an appetizer, or make them a meal. These mini pies are excellent served with white beans—garbanzo or cannellini are my favorite—and a salad like this one.

These mini pies are vegetarian.