The savoury dish that truly stood out at our birthday party was the mini minced meat pies and the minced meat pizza and not without reason! I don’t know if the difference was made by the minced meat, or by the original design of the mini pies, but what I know for sure is that all guests, little and larger ones, loved it! My own little hands, on that very evening, ate nothing more than two mini pigs—uh, I meant mini minced meat pies. SEE THE RECIPE after you read the tips carefully.
It’s certainly not the easiest or the quickest dish to make for your buffet, but it’s a great alternative to the puff pastry products we usually see at parties. It’s just that these mini minced meat pies are leagues ahead of the ordinary mini sausage pies, as they’re incredibly more delicious, healthier, and certainly more nutritious. These mini minced meat pies are butter-free, and certainly with none of the additives found in the premade puff pastry products. They’re an amazing option for a children’s birthday party buffet, for a school snack or lunch, for a stroll, and even for breakfast.
And if you’re not keen to make mini minced meat pies, try out the minced meat pizza, an alternative idea that came to me around midnight after I was exhausted from making mini minced meat pies. It was an idea, though, that our guests loved and kept saying “Did you try the minced meat pizza? Come, let me show you, you must have some, it’s amazing!” That was a surprise for me since I had prepared it with whatever I had laying around. It seemed too simple but ended up attracting attention and great impressions. I’ll explain the process for this version as well in greater detail below.
Tips
- Prepare the minced meat the day before to avoid getting overwhelmed. Besides, the minced meat must cool down before preparing the mini pies.
- In my case, I had made the minced meat a few days ago and stored it in the freezer. One day before making the recipes, I defrosted it by placing it in the fridge and prepared the dough.
- Chop your vegetables thoroughly so that they can integrate well with the minced meat.
- You don’t want the minced meat to have too much sauce, you just want enough so that it doesn’t dry out. If it has too much sauce, it won’t allow the dough to be baked correctly.
- I used ready tomato paste but you can use fresh tomatoes as well, and I’d suggest you grate them and not process them in the food processor. It’s best to remove the skin, as well.
- I’ve made the dough many times, either with all-purpose flour, emmer flour, or a combination of all-purpose and whole-grain flour as I’ve written in the recipe. But don’t forget to sift the whole-grain flour.
- To give your mini minced meat pie a shape, you can cut it with a cookie cutter or use a large glass to make it round.
- Baking time differs from oven to oven, so check often.
- You can bake on convection but at lower temperatures, though in this case, I prefer not to use convection.
- If you want, you can add a little grated cheese to the mini pie and place the minced meat filling over it. I did that very thing in some of the mini pies, and it was delicious as well.
- The dough makes about 40 mini pies, depending on the size you make them, and the minced meat makes about 2 dosages of mini pies. You can store the leftover minced meat for future use or make additional mini pies, which you can store in the freezer and bake another day. That way, you’ll have mini minced meat pies ready to bake whenever you want them. Just remove them from the freezer a few minutes before cooking them and bake them!
For the minced meat pizza
I followed the same procedure for the minced meat and the dough. Instead of spreading the dough with a rolling pin, I lightly oiled a round pizza baking sheet and spread the dough in it with my fingers. Then, I spooned a generous amount of minced meat and spread the 2 kinds of cheese I had available, anthotyros and graviera. Finally, I sprinkled oregano and added some cherry tomato slices. I cooked it for 30 minutes at 200°C. The cheese I used didn’t melt, but it was best considering I served it in a buffet with cold dishes.
Besides serving at a buffet, the mini minced meat pies are a fantastic choice for the school, as a snack, for a stroll, or for breakfast. See more serving ideas here.
These mini minced meat pies made quite the impression at our party. Make them and allow them to dazzle everyone at your party, too!
Stay updated on the rest of the ideas about children’s party buffets that will be uploaded soon. Until then, see what else we served at our buffet:
- Black-eyed pea salad
- Crunchy carrot crackers
- Κεφτεδάκια κοτόπουλο με σως φυστικοβούτυρο
- Νόστιμοι κολοκυθοκεφτέδες
Chop the vegetables.
Heat up a large pot or a pressure cooker over medium heat.
Add the olive oil and the onions and lightly sauté for 3–4 minutes.
Add the ground beef in the pot and sauté by mixing gently until it changes colour, for about 5 minutes.
The ground beef will release liquids, let it absorb them again in case you’re cooking in a pot. If you’re using a pressure cooker, you can skip this step.
When the ground beef has no more liquids, add the spices and sauté for 2 more minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients and mixing thoroughly.
If you’re cooking in a pot, let it boil over medium heat, mixing and checking often, until very little liquid remains, leaving you with essentially a thick sauce. It should take about 30–40 minutes.
If you’re cooking in a pressure cooker, turn up the heat when it has started boiling, close the lid, and wait until the valve rises. Then, set to low heat and cook for 15 minutes. After that time, remove from the heat and set the pressure cooker aside to unlock. Check the thickness of the sauce, and if you need to, boil for a few more minutes without the lid.
Set the minced meat aside to cool.
Add the liquid ingredients first in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Sift the whole-grain flour.
Add the flour and mix with your hands.
Knead with your hands inwards until you have a soft dough that doesn’t stick.
Move the dough to a floured surface, knead gently, and spread the dough with a rolling pin.
Cut the dough in the shapes you want to with a glass or a cookie cutter.
Prepare the mini pie with a teaspoon. Add just enough so that it can close easily, and make sure there isn’t too much liquid.
Close the dough and press with your fingers or a fork.
Move the mini minced meat pies to a large parchment-lined baking sheet.
Break the egg over a small bowl, whisk, and brush the mini pies with it. You can skip this step or use milk.
Bake in an oven that’s been preheated to 200°C, for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the vegetables.
Heat up a large pot or a pressure cooker over medium heat.
Add the olive oil and the onions and lightly sauté for 3–4 minutes.
Add the ground beef in the pot and sauté by mixing gently until it changes colour, for about 5 minutes.
The ground beef will release liquids, let it absorb them again in case you’re cooking in a pot. If you’re using a pressure cooker, you can skip this step.
When the ground beef has no more liquids, add the spices and sauté for 2 more minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients and mixing thoroughly.
If you’re cooking in a pot, let it boil over medium heat, mixing and checking often, until very little liquid remains, leaving you with essentially a thick sauce. It should take about 30–40 minutes.
If you’re cooking in a pressure cooker, turn up the heat when it has started boiling, close the lid, and wait until the valve rises. Then, set to low heat and cook for 15 minutes. After that time, remove from the heat and set the pressure cooker aside to unlock. Check the thickness of the sauce, and if you need to, boil for a few more minutes without the lid.
Set the minced meat aside to cool.
Add the liquid ingredients first in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Sift the whole-grain flour.
Add the flour and mix with your hands.
Knead with your hands inwards until you have a soft dough that doesn’t stick.
Move the dough to a floured surface, knead gently, and spread the dough with a rolling pin.
Cut the dough in the shapes you want to with a glass or a cookie cutter.
Prepare the mini pie with a teaspoon. Add just enough so that it can close easily, and make sure there isn’t too much liquid.
Close the dough and press with your fingers or a fork.
Move the mini minced meat pies to a large parchment-lined baking sheet.
Break the egg over a small bowl, whisk, and brush the mini pies with it. You can skip this step or use milk.
Bake in an oven that’s been preheated to 200°C, for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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