Confiletas Large Vol Au Vent Pastry Shells x 6
$9.95
Hand-packed and dispatched from our Corio, Victoria warehouse, with free delivery Australia-wide on orders over $100.
By Jodie Smith, Product & Hamper Manager at The Gourmet Pantry.
Chicken and mushroom vol-au-vents are a crisp puff pastry case filled with chicken, leek and mushroom in a mustard cream sauce. The chicken goes into the pan raw and poaches in the sauce, which is what keeps it tender. One batch of filling covers 12 large shells or about 24 minis, and takes 45 minutes start to finish.
One filling, two shells, same price
The Confiletas vol-au-vent shells come in two sizes at the same $9.95: six of the large 75mm shells, or twelve of the 38mm minis. That is the only real decision to make before you start, because the filling does not change. A large shell takes about two tablespoons, which is roughly the line between a canape and a plated entree. Two of them with a few dressed leaves is a first course. The minis are one bite, eaten standing up with a glass in the other hand, and you get twice as many of them for the same money.
Both shells arrive fully baked and shelf stable, so a couple of packs sit in the cupboard until you need them and there is no pastry to roll, chill, cut or blind bake. Read the pack size before you shop: the large shells come six to a pack, so twelve vol-au-vents is two packs, while one pack of minis already gives you twelve. Which shell suits which filling covers the rest of the range, including the sweet and savoury tart cases.
Why the chicken goes in raw
Almost every version of this recipe starts with cooked chicken, either leftover roast or a poached breast shredded into the sauce. That chicken has already been cooked once, so by the time it has sat in a hot cream sauce it is cooked twice, and it turns dry and stringy in the shell.
Diced small and dropped raw into simmering stock, chicken thigh cooks through in about six minutes and gives its juices to the filling rather than to a chopping board. Thigh beats breast here for the same reason: it carries enough fat to sit in a warm sauce for half an hour without tightening. If you do want to use leftover roast chicken, fold it in off the heat at the very end and skip the six minutes of simmering.
The vegetarian version: mushroom and thyme
The same shells take a mushroom filling with no chicken in it at all, and it is the one to make when the table is mixed. Chop 400g of mushrooms, half Swiss brown and half button, by hand to about 5mm, and fry them in butter and oil in two batches over high heat. One crowded pan steams them grey, and grey mushrooms make a flat filling. Stir in a tablespoon each of Belazu caramelised onion and roasted garlic with a tablespoon of thyme leaves, cook off 60ml of dry white wine, then add 100ml of cream and a teaspoon of Dijon.
Simmer until you can drag a spoon across the pan and the line holds for a second before it closes, then stop. A loose filling softens the pastry from the inside, which is the whole reason vol-au-vents go soggy. Take it off the heat, stir through a teaspoon of truffle and artichoke pesto if you have it, and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before it goes near a shell. One batch covers 24 minis.
Method
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and chop everything before you start: once the pan is going this moves quickly.
- Melt the butter with the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add the leek and a good pinch of salt, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and sweet, stirring so it collapses rather than colours.
- Turn the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, leaving them alone between stirs, until the pan is dry and they have taken colour. Water left in the mushrooms ends up in the sauce, and a wet sauce softens the pastry from the inside.
- Stir in the roasted garlic and the flour and cook for 1 minute, until the flour smells toasted rather than raw.
- Pour in the wine, scrape the base of the pan, and let it bubble away almost completely.
- Add the stock and bring it to a gentle simmer. Stir in the raw diced chicken and simmer for 6 minutes, turning the pieces once, until just cooked through.
- Add the cream and the mustard. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until you can drag a spoon through the pan and the line holds for a second before it closes. Stop there. Any looser and it will run out of the shell.
- Take the pan off the heat, stir through the tarragon and a squeeze of lemon, and season with salt flakes and pepper. Cool for 10 minutes; it thickens again as it drops in temperature.
- Sit the shells on a dry oven tray, warm them for 4 minutes and leave them there a couple of minutes more. This drives off cupboard moisture and is the difference between a shell that shatters and one that bends.
- Spoon about two tablespoons of filling into each large shell, mounded rather than level, and return the tray to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through. Scatter with parsley, add pepper, and get them to the table within 20 minutes.
Make ahead, and what to do with the rest
The filling is the part that waits. It keeps three days covered in the fridge and is better on day two, once the tarragon and mustard have settled into the cream. Reheat it gently with a spoonful of cream to loosen it, because it sets firm when cold.
The shells are the part that will not wait. Keep the packs sealed until the day, because an open pack in a humid kitchen goes soft within hours, and fill them no more than 20 minutes before they are eaten. If you must fill early, brush the inside of each warmed shell with melted butter and let it set: it seals the pastry and buys close to an hour.
Leftover filling is dinner in disguise: loosen it with a splash of stock and spoon it over rice, or pile it on sourdough toast under the grill with cheese.
Questions we get asked
What is the best filling for vol-au-vents?
The best fillings hold their shape on a spoon. Anything loose enough to run softens the pastry within minutes, so make it thicker than you think. Chicken, leek and mushroom in a mustard cream is the traditional choice and the most crowd proof. Beyond that, mushroom and thyme covers the vegetarians and prawn and avocado is the one for when you do not want to turn the oven on. More ideas in our guide to Christmas canapes.
Do you need to bake Confiletas vol-au-vent shells?
No. They are baked before they are packed, so there is no blind baking and no cooling rack. Give them 3 to 4 minutes on a dry tray at 160°C to 180°C before filling, which crisps them and drives off cupboard moisture. Skip the microwave, which steams them soft.
Can you freeze a vol-au-vent filling?
Yes, for up to a month. Freeze the filling on its own, not the filled shells. Cream sauces can look grainy as they thaw, so bring it back in a pan over low heat and stir until it comes together, then simmer a minute to drive off the water freezing releases. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
How many vol-au-vents per person for drinks?
Allow 3 to 4 pieces a head for an hour of drinks before dinner, and 6 to 8 if canapes are standing in for the meal. The large shells change the maths, because two of them is an entree rather than a nibble. One batch of this filling covers 12 large or about 24 minis.
Keep a few packs of Confiletas shells in the cupboard and party food stops being a project: it turns into a shopping list of fresh things. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100, and orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, VIC warehouse.
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