RECIPE
Yield: 10 Medium Size Vol Au Vents
PUFF PASTRY
1 kg
CHICKEN FILLING
6 Chicken Tender
2 Carrot (medium)
2 Celery Stalks
1/2 Brown Onion
1litre Water
30 g Flour
30 g Butter
Salad of choice
FOR THE VOL AU VENT
Roll out half of the puff pastry to approximately 10mm / 1 cm in thickness. Dock with a roller docker or a fork and cut out 10 x 8.5 mm discs with a fluted or plain cutter. With a 55mm / 5.5cm cutter cut out from the center of the disc to create a hole in the center. These will be the top of your vol au vent.
Roll the other half the puff pastry to approximately 5mm / 0.5cm in thickness. Dock with a roller docker or fork. Cut out 10 x 8.5 cm discs with a fluted of plain cutter. These discs will be for the base of your vol au vent.
(Tips: to prevent the puff pastry from sticking to the cutter, dip the cutter into some flour prior to cutting).
Lightly brush the edges of the base pastry discs with some egg wash, then place the top pastry ring on top to adhere. Continue to do this with the rest of the vol au vent.
Place the cut out vol au vent in the fridge to firm up slightly. Meanwhile pre heat the oven to 200˚C. Remove the vol au vent from the fridge and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until they start to turn golden in color.
FOR THE CHICKEN FILLING
To make the chicken filling, Cut small dices for 1/2 of the carrots and Celery from the recipe. Roughly cut the rest of the carrot, celery and onion and place them into a deep pot. Add 1 litre of water. Bring the stock base to a boil then add in the chicken tenderloins and continue to boil until the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature of the chicken should be more than 75˚C for it to be fully cooked.
Skim any impurities from the top of the stocks if necessary.
Once the chicken are cooked, remove the chicken with a thong. Strain the stock and save approximately 500 ml of the stocks. Discard the vegetables. Save the remainder of the stocks just in case you needed more. Dice the cooked chicken and set aside.
To make the roux, place the butter into a clean pan and melt. Once the butter starts to boil, add in the flour and stir until you create a thick paste. Whisk the roux until there are no lumps. Gradually stream in the stock while whisking, add in the diced vegetables and continue to boil until it has thicken slightly. Adjust the consistency with more stock if necessary. Add in the diced chicken and stir to combine.
ASSEMBLY
Press the center of each vol au vent down to create a deep cavity. Spoon in the hot chicken filling into each vol au vent. Serve with salad.
