Easy And Delicious Chicken Vol Au Vent

Chicken vol au vent is the perfect quick and easy appetiser to serve, be it for family gatherings or when guests come over.

The popular French dish is made with puff pastry, and stuffed with a tasty filling of chicken and mushrooms.

Chicken vol au vent originated around the 19th century, and was common as a amuse bouche, which are bite-sized items of food, had as an appetiser.

Chef Jill Okkers, Culinary Director at Tashas Group, who also manages tashas cafe, has shared an easy-to-make dish with Connector, that only takes 20 minutes to prepare, and is sure to be a regular appetiser to make, when in a pinch.

Ingredients:

8 to 10 store-bought puff pastry casings

800g chicken breast 

400g button mushrooms, cut into four quarters

30g chopped spring onion

4 cups cooking cream

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

100g salted butter

salt and pepper to season

3 teaspoons of chopped chives

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. If the puff pastry casings are frozen, place them spaced apart on a baking tray, and bake till they puff up and turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. If the puff pastry casings are already baked, pop them in right before serving, to refresh them.
2. Place a large thick base saucepan on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add half the olive oil, followed by half the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until they are slightly caramelised and become tender. Remove and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Once done, remove the mushrooms from the pan.
3. Cut the chicken into 2cm cubes and add to the pan. Sauté until the chicken is seared evenly, and golden in colour.
4. Add the spring onion and thyme to the pan with the chicken, and combine for two minutes. Deglaze the chicken using the chicken stock, by adding it in bits at a time. Cook until half of the stock has evaporated.
5. Add in the butter and season lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Pour in the cream and bring the mixture to a simmer. Allow it to reduce to just over half, and add the mushrooms. 
7. Give the filling a final taste, and season more if needed.
8. To serve place the puff pastry casings on a dinner plate, press the centre of the pastry down, and spoon in the filling.
9. Garnish with chopped chives.

Chef Jill Okkers

Culinary Director

Tashas Group