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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.

83,8334.1/5 for 33 ratings

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Last modified on: October 20^th 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: 1,433 grams

Change those ingredients for: 2 people 4 people 8 people 12 people

Change measures: Metric

Metric weight Metric volumes

How long does it take?

Time required for this recipe:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
40 min.	43 min.	1 hour 23 min.

Keeping: The filling will keep for several days in the fridge, but once the vol-au-vent is filled, only a few

At what time?

When will I finish if I start the recipe at a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?

Work this out...

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 20 min.

Rinse and chop 1 leek. Rinse and chop ½ onion.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stage 7 - 2 min.

When they are browned, tip the bacon and mushrooms back into the pan on top.

Stage 8 - 15 min.

Add 250 ml cream, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Heat the oven to 360°F (180°C) and heat the plates.

Stage 9 - 5 min.

Leave the sauce to reduce on low heat.

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.

Remarks

The vol-au-vent was invented by the great chef Antonin Carême in the early 19^th 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.

And to drink?

A light Beaujolais.

Nutritional information

Whole recipe
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
3,030 Kcal or 12,686 Kj	77 gr	59 gr	276 gr
152 %	30 %	6 %	42 %

Per 100 g
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
212 Kcal or 888 Kj	5 gr	4 gr	19 gr
11 %	2 %	<1 %	3 %

Per person
Energetic value	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats
758 Kcal or 3,174 Kj	19 gr	15 gr	69 gr
38 %	7 %	1 %	10 %

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 4 people : 7.61 €
Per person : 1.90 €

Note : These prices are only approximate

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Source

Home made.

More recipes?

This recipe uses (among others)

	Mushrooms: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Stuffed Mushrooms, Boeuf (beef) bourguignon, Rillettes stuffed mushrooms, Spaghetti with mushrooms, Chicken and mushroom brik rolls, ... All
	Cream: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spaghetti with smoked salmon, Bounty-style tart for Alison, Baked leek and Camembert slices, Croque-monsieur gourmand, "Day After Pork Belly" Soup, ... All
	Chicken breast: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Sliced chicken with mushrooms and broccoli, Paté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), Chinese Soup, Baker's chicken and potato tart, Stuffed pumpkin gratin, ... All
	Small pieces of bacon: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Beef braised in reduced red wine, Eggs en Cocotte à la Française, African style chicken, Dipping bread with cheese, Oven omelette, ... All

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