Chicken and Mushroom Vol Au Vent (Recipe)

Instructions:

Prep the Pastry Dough:

Preheat oven at 374°F (190°C).
Take your cutting board and lightly coat it with flour so that the dough won’t stick to it. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 10 x 12 inch (approx) rectangle. If your store-bought past puff pastry was pre-rolled, unroll it as it is.
Take your cookie cutter and cut out six 3-inch diameter circles.
With a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut the middle out of three of the 3-inch circular bases. Carefully Peel out the centers and put them to one side for later use.
Place the three 3-inch diameter bases onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and give each base a light brushing with egg wash.
Now take the hollow circular rings and place one on each of the three bases and brush with egg wash. Being careful to not brush the edges, to ensure the puff pastry can rise nicely.
Take a fork and prick each base several times to help to stop the centers from rising while cooking.
Repeat the process until you have formed as many Vol-au-Vents as you wish to make.
Transfer all of the assembled pastries and the cut-out circle inners into the fridge and chill for 20 minutes.
Once all of your pastries have been refrigerated for 20 minutes or more, transfer to a preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, during which time they should rise and turn a lovely golden brown. (Note: Keep an eye on them).
Take out of the oven and set aside ready for filling. Now to move on to that delicious creamy chicken filling.

Poaching the Chicken:

Take a medium-to-large pan, and in it, place the chicken breasts, a carrot, celery stick, half an onion, and some black peppercorns. Cover with water.
Bring the pan to the boil and once it is bubbling vigorously, turn down the heat and simmer the contents for approximately 15 minutes. If the chicken breasts are large, you may need to simmer them for another couple of minutes. It’s best to check them to make sure the meat is no longer pink inside. However, try not to overcook it as it will become chewy. You want it to be nice and tender.
Once you’re happy with the chicken, remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool. When it’s not too hot to handle, dice it into small pieces.
Remove the carrot, celery, onion, and black peppercorns from the liquid by passing it through a sieve into another container. Set it aside for later use.

Prep the Mushroom for Filling:

Cut the mushrooms into small pieces.
Take a small pan, add a little water, some lemon juice, and several knobs of butter.
Warm the pan on the stovetop, and once the butter has melted, tip in the diced mushrooms.
Cook for approximately three minutes and set aside.

Prep the Roux:

In a small saucepan, add a few knobs of butter and melt over medium heat.
Once completely melted, add the flour and whisk it into the batter to create a paste.Set aside and let it cool for a few minutes.
Take the poaching liquid you set aside earlier, and pour 1 cup into your butter, flour mixture. Whisk gently over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
Add the diced mushrooms plus a little bit of poaching liquid if necessary.
Now add one-half only of the pre-diced chicken. Season with salt-and-pepper and taste. Don’t worry about the rest of the chicken; we will be adding it later.
Stir gently until the flavors have all blended, add two tablespoons of heavy cream, stir to mix in, and set aside.

Assembling the Vol Au Vents:

Take the chicken you set aside earlier and put a few pieces into the bottom of each vol-au-vent casing.
Spoon in your chicken mushroom filling and finish off with a little sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Vol-au-vents can be eaten cold, but I think they are even more delicious when served warm.

Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

Chicken and Mushroom Vol Au Vent (Recipe)

Equipments:

Ingredients:

For Poaching:

For the Mushroom Fillings:

For the Roux:

Instructions:

Prep the Pastry Dough:

Poaching the Chicken:

Prep the Mushroom for Filling:

Prep the Roux:

Assembling the Vol Au Vents:

Nutrition Information: