The humble vol-au-vent, a canapé long compromised by memories of Abigail’s Party and the three-day week, is staging a bold comeback this Christmas: sales are up 25% year-on-year at Waitrose, with stocks of their party packs of 12 running low. This resurgent interest in what the Sun describes as “the naff snack” has been attributed to a nostalgic obsession with bygone foodstuffs triggered by the pandemic, but the revival could have just as much to do with the emergence of an entire generation for whom vol-au-vents hold no unpleasant associations, because they’ve never eaten any and barely know what they are.
Here’s what they are: small pastry cases loaded with a variety of savoury fillings – ham, chicken and mushroom being among the most common. The vol-au-vent originated in France around the start of the 19th century as a larger, pie-like affair; the bite-size cocktail party version is more properly known as a bouchée. By the 1990s, they were tragically unfashionable and remained so for decades, although classy, updated vol-au-vents started appearing in smart restaurants a year or two before the pandemic erupted. Now it’s the retro hors d’oeuvre of the season, and the shops have been picked clean.
Don’t let that stop you – you can still make your own vol-au-vents. This traditional recipe from tasteatlas.com – with a classic sauce financière filling – gives you an idea of just how difficult that can be. But do not fret: the following 16 alternatives prove it doesn’t have to be that hard – for one thing, they all call for shop-bought puff pastry dough. There may be culinary pursuits for which it’s worth producing your own puff pastry from scratch; a batch of vol-au-vents ain’t one of them.
Once your dough is bought and unrolled, there are two basic and interchangeable methods for forming the cases. In the first, a circle of dough is stamped out using a wine glass, fluted cutter or similar, and then a smaller, indented circle is lightly scored on top of each. When they’re cooked this will create a little semi-detached lid that can be prised off for filling.
The other way is to cut out a batch of circles, then cut smaller circles out of half of those to make rings. Lay a ring on top of each circle, so that they puff up into little baskets when baked. If you fancy it, you can also make square cases, as Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi do for their smoked aubergine and yoghurt vol-au-vents.
In any event, all you need is a reliable method for cases, like this one, to be baked and cooled prior to filling – as prior as the night before, if necessary. After that it’s all about fillings – you might even want to produce more than one for the same party. Jamie Oliver’s creamy mushroom filling is certainly among the most foolproof. Simon Rimmer’s coronation prawn vol-au-vents hark back to a time when vol-au-vents were still fashionable, possibly before you were born.
Other useful combinations include smoked trout, horseradish and asparagus and spiced egg and coriander mayo. Shredded, cooked chicken with bacon, leek and cream cheese sounds like a back of the fridge combination borne of dire necessity – a huge lorry driver shortage, perhaps – but tastes none the worse for it.
Sausage vol-au-vents are pretty much sausage rolls with a flakier pastry, making them wholly suitable for Christmas drinks, or a Boxing Day hangover. These brie and cranberry vol-au-vents from Olivia’s Cuisine also have a seasonal attraction, particularly if you bought a load of cranberries just because it seemed like a seasonal thing to do, and subsequently find yourself managing a surplus.
James Martin’s seafood vol-au-vent with pea puree is more starter than canapé (you’ll need a fork) but it possesses a certain aura of luxury, or at least gluttony, calling as it does for lobster, salmon, prawns snd monkfish. Likewise, these giant champagne and lemon prawn vol-au-vents, each with a 12cm diameter pastry casing, are rather closer to a meal than a snack.
If mussel, spinach and roquefort sounds a bit experimental, rest assured it comes from a solid source: the website of Jus-Rol, purveyors of ready-roll puff pastry, the very invention that makes vol-au-vents worth the bother. They even make ready-to-bake cases, in the event you’ve lost the will to live but still have people coming round for drinks. The website also suggests guacamole and asparagus vol-au-vents – not so much a recipe but written permission to cut all remaining corners.
While vol-au-vents are generally savoury, they can just as easily accommodate sweet fillings, opening up the possibility of taking your guests seamlessly from canapés through to pudding without ever letting them sit down – surely the way forward.
Strawberry vol-au-vents can be made by filling each case with whipped cream and topping them with cut strawberry, while this recipe for sweet custard vol-au-vents is invaluable if only because it teaches you how to make custard in a microwave.
Finally, caramelised banana vol-au-vents from Australian Gourmet Traveller offer weary, disgruntled cooks an excuse to spark up the family blowtorch over Christmas. I leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good idea.