Creamy vol-au-vent filling with chicken, pear and mushrooms - delicious creamed dish for autumn and winter
Servings: 600 g cooked chicken meat
© danishthings.comMake a creamy filling with chicken, pear and mushrooms - perfect for vol-au-vents and small tarts.The basic recipe made with 600g chicken provides filling for approximately 12 vol-au-vent cases (Ø 9 cm)
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Ingredients
Filling 1
- 600 g boiled or braised shredded chicken *
- olive oil for frying
- 150 g leeks - white and pale green part* (150g ≈ 1 large leek)
- 200 g mushrooms sliced or diced* - e.g. button mushrooms, shaggy ink caps (Coprinus comatus), brown cap mushrooms or a mushroom mix
- 2-3 fresh thyme sprigs
- salt - to taste
- freshly ground pepper - to taste
Roux
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
Creamed filling
- 400 g reduced hot chicken stock** - alternatively a good strong vegetable stock, or a ready-made soup from the freezer - yours or the supermarket's
- 150 g double cream
- 75 g white wine with acidity and freshness*** e.g. a Sauvignon Blanc
- 10 g lemon juice (10g ≈ 2 tsp)
- salt - if using shop-bought stock, be mindful of the salt balance
- freshly ground pepper
- 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard - there's a difference in strength
- 1-2 tsp fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Filling 2
- 200 g firm pear - trimmed weight (200g ≈ 1 large pear or several small ones)
- 60 g walnuts****
- salt for seasoning
- freshly ground pepper for seasoning
Optional garnish
- fresh thyme leaves
- fresh pear cubes
- toasted chopped walnuts
- 12 vol-au-vent cases/pastry shells/shortcrust tart cases - see alternative serving options in the main text
Instructions
Preparation
Chicken
- Boil or braise your chicken until it reaches a core temperature of 75 °C. If using chicken breast, remove from heat and let rest for 3-5 minutes. If using a whole chicken, cook well in advance - ideally the day before - so it can cool before shredding. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces or cubes. Set the chicken aside.
Vol-au-vent cases - tart shells - pastry cases
- Bake your vol-au-vent cases, pastry shells or tart cases in advance so they can cool slightly before serving. If baked the day before, simply reheat. If using ready-made pastry cases - follow the instructions on the packet.
Walnuts
- Toast lightly in a dry pan over medium heat or in the oven for 3-4-5 minutes until fragrant and golden. Oven: use residual heat if you’ve just baked your vol-au-vent cases/tart shells. Watch the nuts, stir halfway - don’t let them burn.
- Remove and set aside. Chop once cooled - they’re added at the end.
Filling
- Clean leek, mushrooms and pears before weighing. Wash your thyme - save leaves for garnish - sprigs can be sautéed with the leek and mushrooms.
Leek
- Slice the leek(s) lengthwise to remove any soil/sand. Save the green part for stock - only use the white and pale green. Finely slice.
Mushrooms
- Clean your mushrooms and cut into suitable pieces.
Pears
- Wash pears, keep the skin for colour and texture, remove stem, blossom and core.Wait to dice until you sauté the leek and mushrooms - this prevents oxidation. Dice into approx. ½ x 1 cm cubes. Set aside - added at the end.
Sauté
- Sauté the leek in a little olive oil until soft and collapsing. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid evaporates and they take on colour. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove thyme sprigs and set filling aside.
Roux - creamy sauce
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk thoroughly. Let the roux cook through for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly - do not brown.
- Gradually add hot chicken stock - whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Once smooth, bring to a boil.
- Add white wine and bring back to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
- Add double cream, nutmeg, Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Stir well, then season with extra salt, freshly ground pepper and lemon juice. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until creamy and at the desired consistency.
The creamy filling
- Fold the shredded chicken and leek-mushroom filling into the hot sauce and stir. Heat gently over low heat - do not boil. The filling should be creamy - not runny, not too firm.Just before serving, fold in the pear cubes and toasted chopped walnuts - reserve some for garnish if you haven’t made extra. Stir gently - don’t heat - so the pears stay firm.
Serving
- Fill warm shells with hot filling. Garnish with pear, walnuts and thyme.Serve immediately. Also great in savoury pancakes, puff pastry bites or as sauce with rice or potatoes.
Notes
* The mushroom-leek filling, chicken and toasted walnuts can be prepped the day before and reheated gently over low heat.
** The base recipe uses 400g of stock; if baking, reduce to 300g. Add extra stock, milk or cream if making a sauce.
*** I recommend using wine with a little lemon juice - it gives the most complex and rounded flavour. Without wine, double the lemon juice.
**** You can toast walnuts in advance and store them in an airtight container. If you don’t like walnuts, substitute with hazelnuts - note they’re sweeter and lack the bitter contrast of walnuts. The creamy filling keeps covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. It also tastes great the next day - see:
Freezer-friendly: The filling can be frozen, but add pears and walnuts after reheating to preserve texture. Defrost in the fridge and reheat gently over low heat - so the cream doesn’t split. If the sauce thickens too much during storage, adjust with a little hot stock or cream.
** The base recipe uses 400g of stock; if baking, reduce to 300g. Add extra stock, milk or cream if making a sauce.
*** I recommend using wine with a little lemon juice - it gives the most complex and rounded flavour. Without wine, double the lemon juice.
**** You can toast walnuts in advance and store them in an airtight container. If you don’t like walnuts, substitute with hazelnuts - note they’re sweeter and lack the bitter contrast of walnuts. The creamy filling keeps covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. It also tastes great the next day - see:
Freezer-friendly: The filling can be frozen, but add pears and walnuts after reheating to preserve texture. Defrost in the fridge and reheat gently over low heat - so the cream doesn’t split. If the sauce thickens too much during storage, adjust with a little hot stock or cream.
Private notes
Bruger du US Customary, vær opmærksom på, at opskriften er lavet metrisk, og omregnet via et plugin.
If you use US Customary, remember that the recipe is made using Metric and converted via a plugin.