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Recipes: Puff Pastry Cases

Traditional but never out of fashion, these work either as French-style vol au vents or just use them as handy pie cases with meat or fish fillings. They work best if the cases are warmed in an oven and then filled with the hot filling just before being plated and served.

There are also three different puff pastry shapes to be used as garnishes to add texture and crunch.

Haddock au Gratin Vol au Vents

Ingredients

8 Fish-shaped pastry cases
1 Medium sized smoked haddock
250ml White Sauce
50g Grated Cheddar cheese
2 Tomatoes
25g Butter
1tbs Fresh White Breadcrumbs

Preparation
  1. Poach the smoked haddock for 5 minutes in shallow water then drain. Remove the skin, debone and then flake the fish.
  2. Make up the white sauce using 50% milk and 50% of the poached fish stock.
  3. Add the fish and the cheese to the sauce, mix well and heat through to dissolve all the cheese.
  4. Blanche the tomatoes and remove the skins. Slice thinly and fry gently in half the butter.
  5. Share the fish mixture between the pastry cases and place a slice of tomato on top of each one.
  6. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and put a dot of butter on each one. Place under a medium-hot grill for 5 minutes (not too hot or the pastry will burn).

Crab Vol au Vent

Crab Vol au Vent
Ingredients to serve 4

4 Pidy Crab-shape Vol au Vent
35gr butter
25gr flour
300 ml milk
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
250 ml cream
120gr mushrooms
½ lemon
150 ml white wine
2 tomatoes
250 ml fish stock
½ tsp curry powder
1/3 tsp paprika powder
250gr cooked crab flesh
60gr peeled shrimps

Preparation
  1. Melt 20gr butter in a pan and mix in 25gr flour. Add the milk little by little, and bring this blend to boiling point, while stirring continuously. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Let it thicken, and add cream. Continue cooking until you get a thick sauce.
  2. Chop the mushrooms finely and brown them in a knob of butter. Sprinkle over with lemon juice, and moisten with white wine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook gently.
  3. Skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and dice the flesh.
  4. Reduce the fish stock until it has thickened and there is 100ml remaining. Add 200ml sauce with cream, and strain. Season with curry and paprika powder, add the mushrooms, and let it cook briefly. Add the diced tomatoes and the crab flesh, and reheat the whole gently.
  5. Using a small knife, cut out the tops of the crab vol au vents.
  6. Put them in a preheated oven at 200°C until they are crisp.
  7. Fill with the preparation, dress on the plates, and replace the tops at an angle.
  8. Coat the sauce around the crab, and garnish the whole with shrimps and chervil leaves.