Vol-au-vent: the recipe for the most traditional of appetizers

Vol-au-vents are a delicious appetizer, ideal for filling in many ways and for serving. Here is the easy recipe and many ideas for the filling!

Today we prepare a wonderful recipe , perfect to bring to the table to cheer up the Holidays and to take your guests … for the gluttony: the vol-au-vent with fondue, a typical Christmas appetizer. These are puff pastry baskets that can be stuffed in many ways, and which are particularly suitable for creamy fillings .

Among the most famous, there are those with a very tasty filling of cheese fondue , which today we will see together how to make, but there are also many other recipes for savory vol-au-vents to try. You are ready? Then let’s get started !

How to make vol-au-vents

1. First of all, take the puff pastry roll , roll it out gently without breaking it and then cut into discs with a diameter of at least 5-6 cm.
2. At this point, from the discs obtained, with a smaller pastry cutter , a central circle and rings. These will be the parts to compose your vol-au-vents: the discs will be the base, and above each one you will have to place three rings, which will form the walls. If you want you can also create a small lid, which will serve as an elegant decoration .
3. Once you have created all the baskets, which you must have assembled by brushing a little milk between the layers to make the pieces of dough adhere to each other, prick the base and bake them in the oven at 200 ° C for about ten minutes .

Filling for fondue vol-au-vents

1. Let’s now move on to the crucial phase: the filling of the vol-au-vent. Prepare the fondue by melting the butter and flour in a saucepan. Once you have created the roux, add the milk and then the diced cheese.
2. Mix everything until you have obtained a creamy consistency , then add a pinch of salt and pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg.
3. At this point, fill the vol-au-vents that you have cooled in the meantime. If you can, serve them on the spot still hot, otherwise you can compose them and heat them slightly before bringing them to the table.
4. The dish is ready, enjoy your meal… and happy holidays !

Also try the fried dumplings , another wonderful appetizer!

Stuffed vol-au-vent: recipes and tips for preparing them

In addition to the classic hot stuffed vol-au-vents with fondue, there are many other sauces that you can make to bring to the table a quick, good and hard to give up appetizer. For a vegetarian filling, just warm the puff pastry casket slightly and stuff it with a spoonful of Russian salad . Not only that, we also advise you to prepare vol-au-vent with mushrooms. You will need to make the béchamel as per the classic recipe , and separately cook the mushrooms in a pan (we recommend the porcini) with a drizzle of oil and garlic. Once beautifully roasted, remove the garlic and add a chopped parsley and, as a last step, blend them together with the béchamel and here is a filling for a perfect and delicious vol-au-vent.

Moving on to other fillings, the cocktail sauce is certainly not missing. For a classic but fun idea, we recommend preparing the traditional prawn cocktail and “serving” it directly into the puff pastry glasses. Or why not prepare some vol-au-vents stuffed with cooked ham? Make the mousse with fresh ricotta or robiola , the pureed ham, salt and pepper and stuff them. The same procedure to follow is also to prepare a filling with salmon, tuna or even mortadella.

In short, there are many ideas to make one of the most sought after Christmas appetizers , and which one do you choose?

storage

These filled vol-au-vents, fast and very easy, should be consumed at the moment so that the dough does not become soft due to the filling and the filling does not risk losing its qualities.