Chicken vol-au-vent (creamy chicken in puff pastry)
Crisp, buttery puff pastry squares piled with creamy chicken and mushrooms, an old-school French classic that’s secretly easy.
- 50 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.08 a serving
- 630 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 puff pastry sheet, 1 sheet, thawed in the fridge
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp butter
- 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 630 calories, 28 g protein, 33 g carbs and 44 g fat, and costs about $3.08 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F and line a with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Unfold the pastry and cut it into 4 squares. Set them on the pan and, with a sharp knife, score a smaller square about ½ inch in from the edge of each, cutting halfway through.
Dolly’s tip: Cut straight down instead of dragging the knife. Squashed edges won’t puff.Brush the tops with the beaten egg and 15 to 18 minutes, until puffed and deep .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 16 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
While they , the butter in a large over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and shallot and cook 6 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms are .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Sprinkle in the flour and 1 minute, until no dry flour shows.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heat
Slowly pour in the broth, , then the cream. 3 minutes, until thick and silky.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
in the chicken, thyme, salt, pepper and lemon juice and 2 minutes, until the chicken is hot.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heat
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Press down the scored center of each pastry square with a spoon to make a hollow, then spoon the chicken into and over them and scatter on the parsley.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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