Name: Vol-au-Vent
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 500 g puff pastry (chilled); 1 piece Egg (beaten with 1 teaspoon water for brushing); 30 g Unsalted butter (divided); 250 g chicken breast (1 cm dice); 200 g cremini mushrooms (wiped clean and sliced); 1 piece Shallot (finely chopped); 25 g All-purpose flour (for the sauce); 250 ml chicken stock (hot and preferably low-sodium); 100 ml Heavy cream (at room temperature); 2 tbsp tarragon (finely chopped); 1/2 tsp fine salt (plus more to taste); 1/4 tsp Black pepper (freshly ground)

Comment préparer

Heat the oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Keep the puff pastry chilled until ready to shape.

Unroll the cold puff pastry and cut 12 rounds about 8 cm wide. Cut a 5 cm round from the center of 6 rounds to make rings. Place the 6 whole rounds on the sheet, brush their rims lightly with beaten egg, and set one pastry ring on each.

Brush the tops of the pastry rings with the remaining beaten egg, avoiding the cut sides. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until deeply puffed and golden. Cool for 5 minutes, then gently remove any soft pastry from the centers to make room for the filling.

Golden baked vol-au-vent pastry cases with hollow centers

Image générée par IA

While the pastry bakes, melt 15 g of butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the diced chicken, season with half the salt and the pepper, and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until opaque throughout and at least 74°C at the center. Transfer to a plate.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Add the shallot and mushrooms and sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is tender and the mushrooms have released their moisture and begun to brown.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute, coating the mushrooms. Gradually whisk in the hot chicken stock, then add the cream. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce is smooth enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and stir in the tarragon and remaining salt. Simmer for 1 minute, then taste and adjust the seasoning. The filling should be thick and spoonable, not runny.

Spoon the hot filling into the pastry cases, dividing it evenly. Serve immediately while the pastry is crisp and the sauce is steaming.

Finished vol-au-vent filled with creamy chicken and mushrooms

Image générée par IA

Pourquoi cette recette fonctionne

High-heat baking creates delicate, crisp pastry layers, while a flour-thickened chicken stock and cream sauce gives the mushroom filling enough body to sit neatly inside each case. Tarragon adds the characteristic French aromatic lift without overpowering the buttery pastry.

Conservation et réchauffage

Comment la conserver

Store baked pastry cases and cooled filling separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Assemble just before serving.

Comment la réchauffer

Reheat empty pastry cases at 180°C for 5 to 7 minutes and warm the filling gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until hot. Do not microwave the pastry, as it will soften.