90 min.
3 (out of 3)
Vegetarians
Carnivores
Pescatarians
does not apply
editor's note
A vol au vent is a puff pastry show boat. That people used to serve ragout. Ragout, as named in the French kitchen, is a warm thick sauce. Filled with cooked pieces of chicken fillets or baked mushrooms. I use vol au vents to slowly bake marinated meat or fish. Like sardines fillets, smoked salmon or leftover boeuf bourguignon. Check my recipe for warm sardine fillets & blue cheese spread P.S. the best results for puffed pastry. Is to use an oven that provides both upper and lower heat)
TOOLS
- an oven
- a fork or whisk
- a knife or pastry brush
- 2 oven dishes or baking dishes
- a small bowl
- a small plate (or pastry ring)
- a glass (or smaller pastry ring)
ingredients
- Puff Pastry Sheets
- 1 egg (size L)
- butter or baking parchment (to protect pastry to get stuck)
steps (PREP. & ACTUAL COOKING)
- Preheat oven (200ºC)
- Butter your dishes, or fold in with baking parchment
- Remove pastry sheets from freezer or fridge
- Open package and lay out sheets on a clean counter
- Break egg and pour content in a small bowl
- Whisk egg lightly
- Take one sheet*
- Optional: calculate how many circles you could get out of each sheet
- The largest pastry ring or a small plate is your tool to cut out dough
- The smallest pastry ring (or glass) is your tool to cut out the inner circle)
- Let’s make the base first. That is a circle (largest size of your ring)
- Cut out the base
- Place it in buttered or in baking parchment covered dish
- Coat the base with egg mix
- Cut out a new circle with ring or plate
- And cut out its inner circle with smallest ring or the hollow side of a glass
- Carefully cover your puff pastry base with a ring
- Coat the ring with egg mix
- Continue to cut out outer rings and place them on top of the previous ring
- Do not forget to coat each ring with egg mix
- When there is no dough left
- Assemble all small circles (that you previously cut out from the larger circles)
- Take the second baking dish and place the first circle
- Coat the base with egg mix
- And continue to stack all inner circles
- Each cemented with a bit of egg mix
- Slide both dishes into the middle of hot oven
- Turn up the heat to 220ºC
- And set the time for 30 min.
- Check after 30 min. whether the top layer is not getting too brown
- If yes, turn down the heat to 200ºC
- Set the timer for 20 min.
- Check whether all layers of puff pastry are flaky
- In case some layers still have this greasy outlook. Let them continue to bake for another 10 min.
- When all layers have risen. Remove dishes from the oven
- Fill the pastry box with ragout or any other fillings
- Cover box with its matching hat
*each region or supermarket brand has its own size. Hence my careful instructions. In Holland we have small square pastry sheets.
