Vol-au-vent
The classic vol-au-vent of French cuisine consists of a very light puff pastry case (supposedly so light that it could fly off in the lightest puff of wind) with a cream-based filling.
There are many different recipes for fillings. This version uses bacon, chicken, mushrooms and leeks.
There are many different recipes for fillings. This version uses bacon, chicken, mushrooms and leeks.
165 K 4.1/5 (43 reviews)
1 hour 25 min.
Easy
7.65 €
4 people
12 IngredientsLast modified on: October 20th 2013
For 4 people, you will need:
- 1
1 leek - 2
½ onion - 3
300 g mushrooms - 4
½ lemon - 5
150 g small pieces of bacon - 6
1 tablespoon vinegar - 7
200 g chicken breast - 8
250 ml cream - 9
6 tablespoons olive oil - 10
4 vol-au-vents cases - 11
salt - 12
pepper - Total weight: 1,435 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Cooking: 45 min.
All in all: 1 hour 25 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 20 min.
Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Pour 2 tablespoonsful of olive oil into a frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute without colouring.
Add the leek, salt and pepper again, stir well and cook until the leek is just cooked but still a fresh green.
Set aside.
Add the leek, salt and pepper again, stir well and cook until the leek is just cooked but still a fresh green.
Set aside.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Wash and chop the mushrooms into small pieces (these are shiitake, but you can use others, particularly wild ones: morels, chanterelles, etc.).
Stage 4 - ⌛ 5 min.
Using the same pan on medium heat, pour in 2 tablespoonsful of olive oil. When hot, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook briefly (they should not have time to soften much).
At the last minute, add the juice of half a lemon.
Set aside.
At the last minute, add the juice of half a lemon.
Set aside.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 8 min.
Still using the same pan, fry 150 g small pieces of bacon.
At the last minute, add 1 tablespoon vinegar.
Set aside.
At the last minute, add 1 tablespoon vinegar.
Set aside.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 10 min.
Cut 200 g chicken breast into small pieces.
Pour 2 tablespoonsful of olive oil into the frying pan and fry the chicken pieces after seasoning.
Pour 2 tablespoonsful of olive oil into the frying pan and fry the chicken pieces after seasoning.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 2 min.
When they are browned, tip the bacon and mushrooms back into the pan on top.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 15 min.
Stage 9 - ⌛ 5 min.
Leave the sauce to reduce on low heat.
.When the mixture has thickened, add the leek then turn off the heat (this will help the leek to stay green).
.When the mixture has thickened, add the leek then turn off the heat (this will help the leek to stay green).
Stage 10 - ⌛ 8 min.
Reheat the 4 vol-au-vents cases for 5 minutes in the oven. Place a pastry case on each plate and fill until slightly overflowing.
Serve immediately on its own or with pilau rice, for example.
Serve immediately on its own or with pilau rice, for example.
Remarks
The vol-au-vent was invented by the great chef Antonin Carême in the early 19th century.
I maintain (admittedly with a certain caution) that the French "bouchées à la reine" (literally, the Queen's mouthfuls) are simply small, bite-sized vol-au-vents.
I maintain (admittedly with a certain caution) that the French "bouchées à la reine" (literally, the Queen's mouthfuls) are simply small, bite-sized vol-au-vents.
And to drink?
A light Beaujolais.
Keeping: The filling will keep for several days in the fridge, but once the vol-au-vent is filled, only a few
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 200 RDI=80 % | 940 RDI=90 % | 1,090 RDI=170 % | 3,260 RDI=160 % | 13,660 RDI: 160 % |
| Per 100 g | 10 RDI=5 % | 70 RDI=6 % | 80 RDI=10 % | 230 RDI=10 % | 950 RDI: 10 % |
| Per person | 50 RDI=20 % | 230 RDI=20 % | 270 RDI=40 % | 820 RDI=40 % | 3,410 RDI: 40 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 4 people : 7.65 €
- Per person : 1.95 €
Change currency:
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Mushrooms
Like these other recipes: Mushroom tart, Sauce Normande (for fish), Sliced veal with leeks and mushrooms, Mushroom bourguignon, Rice à la grecque, ... See them all 63
Cream
Like these other recipes: Fisherman's Ragout, Nicholas's fish, Grilled fillet of salmon with corn-salad cream, Clementine Chantilly, Nanou's tuna tart, ... See them all 122
Chicken breast
Like these other recipes: Warm chicken salad, Chicken nems, Tex-Mex chicken burger, Spicy chicken skewers, Chicken fillets with cancoillotte sauce, ... See them all 31
Small pieces of bacon
Like these other recipes: Fougasse with bacon and Comté, Creamy "terre et mer" pots, Maroilles cheese quiche, Bistro-style cabbage salad, How to cook bacon and remove excess fat, ... See them all 41
Other recipes you may also like
Chocolate Chantilly
If we look at the more scientific side of Chantilly cream we can see that it's mainly cream, and cream is a mix of very small droplets of milk fat and water, which is called an emulsion. When we whip this emulsion, we incorporate air into it and so create a mousse or foam. In the end Chantilly is a foaming emulsion. The interest of this observation is that we can imagine doing the same not only with cream. We just need water and... September 25th 2013191 K5 15 min.
Foie gras Chantilly
Chantilly is a method which is applied to cream of course, but also to other surprising ingredients. If we look at the more scientific side of Chantilly we can see that it's mainly cream, and cream is a mix of very small droplets of milk fat and water, which is called an emulsion. When we whip this emulsion, we incorporate air into it and so create a mousse or foam. In the end Chantilly is a foaming emulsion. The interest of this observation is that we can imagine doing the same not only with... September 17th 2013132 K4.6 30 min.
Creamy Winter Vegetable Soup
This is a very simple recipe: lots of winter vegetables cooked in chicken stock, then blended. The soup's special finishing touch comes from cream and a spoonful of mustard. January 14th 201598 K5 1 hour 25 min.
How to cook potato grenaille
The French call very small potatoes "grenaille". This is a typical way of cooking them: the tiny potatoes are pan-fried in their skins and make an excellent accompanient for meat. Grenaille can be made with any kind of potato; it is a question of size, rather than variety, though I think that firm-textured potatoes, such as rattes or charlottes, work best. I am using rattes in the photos. The cooking is a combined method: boiling first, then frying. This is quicker than using a single method. September 16th 2015487 K4.5 45 min.
Rillons de Tours
Rillons de Tours (a town in the West of France, in the Loire valley) is a winter pork recipe. Bacon is cooked long and slow in lard and white wine until "confit". Rillons can be eaten like potted meat (rillettes) with bread, wine and pickled gherkins, but they can also be used instead of lardons in a recipe. July 30th 2016247 K4.4 2 hours 20 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-02-15)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.