vol-au-vent

various dates

Vol-au-vent = 'blowing in the wind.'

This is a Flemish recipe aka koninginnehapje, videetjes, vol au vent, chicken ragout, chicken a la king / queen, queenie snack.

This dish is often served in puff pastry cups as an appetizer on formal occasions, (Pic1a) but you can overfill the puff pastry to turn it into a full meal (Pic1b.) If you don’t have the puff pastry, you can just serve it in a bowl. (Pic1c)
You can make them really big (Pic2a,) really small (pic2b,) or put something different inside them, like seafood instead of chicken. (Pic2c)

A. vol-au-vent on the internet

 

Pic1 a: vol-au-vent in puff pastry
Pic1 b: overflowing, as a meal
Pic1 c: in a bowl

 

Pic2 a: make it large
Pic2 b: make it small
Pic2 c: make it seafood

b. the long road

2019-07-23

It takes a while to prepare this by the book: (notice the similarity with waterzooi)

  1. You cook a vegetable stock first;
  2. then boil the chicken in that stock,
  3. then make a roux sauce with that stock.

Do all that, and you can count on at least 2 ½ -3 hours if you prepare this from scratch. Since you have to cook your chicken anyway, I propose a shortcut where you cook vegetables and chicken together.

Part of the visual attraction of this dish is the even white & cream coloring of all the ingredients. Since looks aren't very important for me, I don't mind deviating from the 'official' recipe in that regard as well. It does change the intended overall-creamy-color though.

To keep the mushrooms a light cream color, simmer them in clear water or stock instead of sautéing them.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 8 servings:
  • puff pastry shells?
  • 1 large onion
  • celery, 4 stalks
  • 4 large carrots
  • ½ lb. sweet peas
  • 2 leek (white parts only)
  • 2 lbs. soup chicken breast meat
    I used chicken legs = darker meat
  • 1 lb. ground veal
    I used spinach & chicken sausage instead
  • 1 lb. mushrooms (preferably white)
    I used baby Portobello mushrooms instead
  • butter / olive oil
  • flour
  • S&P
  • cream
  • 1 shot Madeira wine
  • spices & herbs:
    • 2 laurel leaves
    • 2 cloves
    • 1 cayenne pepper
    • 1 sprig fresh rosemary, thyme
    • parsley

Directions

2019-07-23

Pic3 a: cut veggies
Pic3 b: oversize spice egg
Pic3 c: vegetable soup

1. Make the vegetable soup:

 

Pic4 a: reserve vegetables
Pic4 b: strain the broth
Pic4 c: sauté mushrooms Pic5 a: boil chicken / sausage
Pic5 b: let it cool
Pic5 c: cut or pull the meat

2. Prepare the meat:

Pic6 a: fry flour
Pic6 b: add broth / milk
Pic6 c: whisk until smooth

3. Make white sauce:

Pic7 a: add mushrooms
Pic7 b: add chicken
Pic7 c:  all done, with veggies

4. Put it all together now:

 

Pic8 a: yummie: served over half croissant
Pic8 b: leftovers for salads
Pic8 c: extra broth for soups and sauces

5a. Afterwards:
Since you’re doing all this work anyway, you can just as well make some extra.

 

Pic9 a: served in ramekins au gratin with breadcrumbs and cheese
Pic9 b: served in a bowl, as a complete meal soup
Pic9 c: served over a croissant

5b. Afterwards:
Since you’re doing all this work anyway, you can just as well make some extra.

 

Pic10 a+b: 2019-08-13  — a new batch with better color, served with ravioli
Pic10 c: have a nice day

C. vol-au-vent sauce / soup

2019-08-10

Vol-au-vent should be prepared fairly thickly, but still easily pourable. It can be served 'as is' as a mushroom sauce over potatoes or rice.

You can also add more milk or broth to make it more liquid so it can be served as a mushroom & vegetable milk soup.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need:

  • vol-au-vent (see above)
  • milk or broth
  • S&P, seasoning of your choice
Pic11: vol-au-vent meal soup

Directions

Pic12 a-c: vol-au-vent soup

d. the good-looking shortcut

2020-04-10

I did find frozen puff pastry shells in an El Paso, TX walmart a few months ago, have kept them in my freezer just for this occasion. They are a bit on the small side, but that's they only size they had.

The shortcut is that I did not bother with cooking a vegetable broth this time. I slow-roasted a fryer chicken breast instead and I boiled sliced mushrooms separately. I found that using a young fryer chicken instead of a soup chicken made it taste even better.

2020-04-10

Pic13 a+b: bake the puff pastry shells
Pic13 c: boil the mushrooms to keep hem from darkening

 

Pic14 a-c: roast chicken breast

 

Pic15 a-c: sauce + mushrooms, chicken, all mixed

 

Pic16 a-c: deep-fry potatoes in 2 passes

 

Pic17 a-c: filled puff pastry shells, served with deep-fried potatoes, with boiled potatoes

 

Pic18 a+b: overfilled puff pastry shells
Pic18 c: filled puff pastry shell, cut in half.