THE CHEF AND
THE BUTCHER
C It’s the delicious. party issue: enter the
vol-au-vent!
A Every day is a party! Is it all right to
admit I don’t know what a vol-au-vent is?
Never in my life have I had one.
C You have had a vol-au-vent, but you
probably called it a pie or something.
A No. Never. I don’t get it.
C Right then, we’ll educate you. We’ll start
with chicken thigh meat for the filling.
A Yes, a great cut of meat – juicy, tender.
C Absolutely, And we’re going to poach
the thigh fillets in stock so they’ll be really
nice and moist.
A Yeah, poaching thigh fillets always
keeps them nice and juicy, and thigh meat
is always the best bit of the chicken.
C For once, you’re right. Thigh is the
best bit.
A Right. So, is this going to taste nice?
Is chicken what you put in a vol-au-vent?
C Yeah, or mushroom. But yeah, chicken
is classic. Chicken, like a veloute.
A Okay, so it’s wrapped in pastry?
C Yeah, it’s like puff pastry. Everyone buys
ready-made vol-au-vent cases, and I’m
no different.
A Store-bought cases?
C No one makes vol-au-vent cases. Life is
too short to make them; there’s too much
rosé to drink. If you have time to make
puff pastry, I don’t want to know you.
A Right. Why are we reviving these?
C Because everything that once was cool
is now cool again. It’s like... our kids, whoPreheat the oven to 180°C.
To cook the chicken, place stock in
a saucepan and bring to the boil over
high heat. Add chicken and return to the
boil. Remove from heat, cover and stand
for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked
through. Drain and set aside to cool.
Finely chop chicken and toss through
a pinch of salt flakes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, place oil and prosciutto in
a frypan over medium-high heat. When
hot, cook prosciutto for 1-2 minutes each
side or until crisp. Remove and drain on
paper towel. Set aside for 5 minutes to
cool slightly, then finely chop 4 slices and
place in a bowl. Break remaining 1 slice
prosciutto into small pieces and set aside.
To make the bechamel, melt butter
in a saucepan over high heat. Add flour
and cook, whisking, for 2 minutes or until
thickened. Gradually add milk, whisking
well after each addition. Bring to the
boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook,
whisking, for 3 minutes or until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir through
tarragon, Gruyere, paprika, chopped
chicken and chopped prosciutto.
When ready to serve, arrange pastry
cases on a baking tray, brush with egg
and bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden.
Fill warm pastry cases with warm
or cooled chicken mixture. Sprinkle
with broken prosciutto pieces, extra
Gruyere and paprika, and chervil,
if using, to serve.haven’t had vol-au-vents... we’re bringing
our nostalgia to the kids and they’re going
to own it. I still can’t believe you’ve never
had a vol-au-vent – it’s like saying you’ve
never had a prawn cocktail!
A I’ve had a prawn cocktail! How come
I missed out on vol-au-vents?
C You were upstairs. Sitting on the stairs,
looking down in your short pyjamas at
the adults’ dinner party.
A How much rosé have you had?CHICKEN, GRUYERE
& PAPRIKA VOL-AU-VENTS
MAKES 241L (4 cups) chicken stock
4 skinless chicken thigh fillets
2 tsp olive oil
5 thin slices prosciutto
25g unsalted butter, chopped
2 tbs plain flour
2 cups (500ml) milk
2 tbs finely chopped
tarragon leaves(^1) / 3 cup (40g) finely grated Gruyere,
plus extra to serve
(^1) / 4 tsp smoked paprika (pimenton),
plus extra to serve
24 store-bought vol-au-vent pastry
cases (from selected supermarkets
and grocers)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Chervil sprigs (substitute tarragon
or parsley leaves), to serve
INTERVIEW
SAMANTHA JONES
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
SHARYN CAIRNS
PHOTOGRAPHY
NIGEL LOUGH
MERCHANDISING & PROP STYLING
EMMALY STEWART
FOOD STYLING
PHOEBE WOOD
Colin Fassnidge is celebrating our party issue
with a retro food revival of the vol-au-vent, and
is on the case to explain to a confused Anthony
Puharich just what it is they’ll be eating.
Look out for more from Colin in
ON SUNDAY
@cfassnidge @fassnidge73 @askthebutcher_
Visit delicious.com.au for
more recipes from the
Chef and the Butcher
36 delicious.com.au
MEAT MARKET.