The holiday season is here and it’s the perfect time to celebrate with some festive appetizers! Today I am showing you how to make these delicious Mini Mushroom Vol Au Vents. They are the perfect vegetarian recipe for the holiday season, and they look very impressive (but are super easy to make)!
What are Vol au Vents?
Vol au vents are essentially pasty cups that are filled with any filling desired. The pastries are made with puff pastry and are super crispy and light. In French, vol au vent actually translates to “windblown”– that’s how light and airy they are!
While these vol au vents look complicated to make, it is actually super easy to make! Simply layer a ring of puff pastry on top of a round of puff pastry and brush with egg wash. Once baked in the oven, the ring puffs up and creates walls around the edge of the pastry, which allows you to fill the centre with your favourite filling.
Making the Mushroom and White Wine Filling
This mushroom and white wine filling is super creamy a delicious, which compliments the crisp puff pastry.
I sautéed crimini mushrooms with butter, shallots, garlic, and thyme until nice and soft. To bring the mixture together, flour is added along with white wine and whipping cream. This helps to thicken the mushroom filling and hold better in the centre of the vol au vents.
To add a bit of extra bright flavour and a beautiful colour, chopped Italian parsley is mixed into the mushroom filling and also used to garnish the vol au vents once they are assembled.
Get the Recipe!
Mini Mushroom Vol Au Vents
Ingredients
- 2 sheets puff pastry thawed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dusting
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 cups crimini mushrooms finely chopped (about 200 grams whole mushrooms)
- 1/2 cup shallot finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll out one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to 2 to 3mm thick (or approximately 20×26 cm in width and length). Use a 5-cm cookie cutter to stamp out 20 rounds of puff pastry. Transfer the rounds to the parchment-lined baking tray, spacing them at least 4-cm apart.
- Roll out the other sheet of puff pastry to the same thickness and repeat the process by stamping out 20 rounds of puff pastry. Then take a 3-cm wide cookie cutter (or a large piping tip works great) and stamp out the centres of the rounds to create a ring.
- Beat the egg and water in a small bowl to create an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush the rounds with egg wash, then pace the rings on top of the rounds, ensuring the edges match up. Gently press the ring down and brush the top of the ring with egg wash.
- Prick the centre of the vol au vents with a fork a few times, then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- As the pastries are baking, make the mushroom filling. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the butter to the pan, followed by the chopped mushrooms, shallots, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic, and thyme and cook for another minute. Then add the flour and cook for 1 more minute over medium-high heat until it thickens.
- Next, add whipping cream and mix to combine.
- Remove from the heat and add half the parsley to the pan. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Remove the vol au vents from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Press the centres of the vol au vents down with the back of a spoon.
- Next, spoon the hot mushroom mixture into the vol au vents and top with the remaining parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!
