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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.

153 K 4.1/5 (41 reviews)

1 hour 25 min. difficulté

Easy

£6.60

4 people

12 Ingredients

Last modified on: October 20^th 2013

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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

Change to the quantities for:

2 people 4 people 8 people 12 people

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Times for this recipe

Preparation: 40 min.

Cooking: 45 min.

All in all: 1 hour 25 min.

When should you start or finish this recipe?

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.

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.

.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.

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.

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	80 RDI=30 %	80 RDI=7 %	290 RDI=40 %	3,260 RDI=160 %	13,640 RDI: 160 %
Per 100 g	5 RDI=2 %	5 RDI=0 %	20 RDI=3 %	230 RDI=10 %	950 RDI: 10 %
Per person	20 RDI=8 %	20 RDI=2 %	70 RDI=10 %	810 RDI=40 %	3,410 RDI: 40 %

The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man

Possible allergens in this recipe: Sulfites, Milk, Gluten, egg

How much will it cost?

For 4 people : £6.60
Per person : £1.65

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.

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