These simple egg pies are loaded with asiago cheese and fresh garlic for a bold flavor. Bake in a muffin tin to create individual servings for a welcomed savory addition to any weekend brunch gathering.
Yield: 8 miniature pies
Ingredients
crust
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 ounces cold water
filling
- 1 1/2 ounces asiago cheese, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 large eggs
- fresh parsley for garnish
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 8 slots in a 12-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
To make the crust, stir together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and using two knives, or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed into pea-size pieces. Add the water and stir until a dough forms, work the dough into a ball.
Roll the crust on a well-floured surface to a rectangle about 12-by-10-inches. Turn the crust so that the 10-inch side faces you. Cut it down the middle from top to bottom. Then cut across to make 8 similar-size pieces. They don’t have to be perfect.
Transfer each crust to a sprayed muffin tin. Fold and tuck it so that it fits almost all the slot with some corners hanging over. Sprinkle an equal amount of cheese over each crust. Then add an equal amount of grated garlic. Stir together the salt and pepper in a small dish, and divide it evenly over each crust. Break 1 egg into each crust, careful to keep the yolk intact.
Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until the eggs have reached your desired doneness and the edges of the crust are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each pie to loosen it from the pan. Remove, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and serve warm.
Makin’ Bacon
Egg’s best friend is bacon, and for these egg pies, a side of bacon turns a snack into a meal. Author and food commentator Sara Perry makes her bacon in a cold cast-iron skillet and provides tips in her book, Everything Tastes Better with Bacon:
“For whole slices, let the bacon reach room temperatures,” she writes. “In a cold, heavy skillet large enough to hold the slices in a single layer, arrange the slices and cook over low to medium-low heat.” Cooking bacon at a low temperature prevents shrinking, curling and uneven cooking.
When the bacon is cooked the way you like it, transfer the slices to paper towels to drain. Perry says that a thick, 1-ounce bacon slice cooked over medium-low heat will take 10 to 12 minutes, while one regular slice will be ready in about 5 minutes.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of Chickens magazine.
