Whilst working on ideas for food for the Christmas table, Carin from Purouge made mention of a Vol-Au-Vent recipe. I was not sure what they were, but when she showed my the pictures, I liked them.
Vol-Au-Vent: {French for “windblown” to describe its lightness} is a small hollow case of puff pastry. Vols-au-vent are typically made by cutting two circles in rolled out puff pastry, cutting a hole in one of them, then stacking the ring-shaped piece on top of the disc-shaped piece.[1] This pastry is usually found filled with savory ingredients, but can also have a sweet filling. – source.
The original recipe that the ones I made for the Christmas table was based on is from the Delectable recipe book by Marlene van der Westhuizen. She suggests various filling options, such as:
- the use of a Basil pesto with Brie
- Tomato pesto with Chevre cut into slices
- Tapenade with Chevre
- Or your own combination
I opted for a boring but safe option for the guests, a Chicken option that was flavoured with a packet of Chicken noodle soup.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius
- Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into 6-8 squares using a sharp knife
- Line the holes of a large muffin pan with the squares
- Fill them with your choice of filling
- Using your fingers, mould each square of pastry until it resembles a little closed paper bag
- Pinch them closed, sealing them with a dash of water on your fingers or “Tie” each with a chive
- Using a pastry brush, paint each with egg and bake them for about 15 minutes or until the pastry has turned crispy.
We served these with some grilled veggies, rice with red peppers that we made in a star shape and sweet chilly sauce.
Thank you to Melanie Wessels Photography for the lovilee images.
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