|Place of origin||France|
|Region or state||Paris|
|Main ingredients||Puff pastry|
A vol-au-vent (pronounced [vɔlovɑ̃], French for "windblown" to describe its lightness) is a small hollow case of puff pastry. Vols-au-vent are typically made by cutting two circles in rolled out puff pastry, cutting a hole in one of them, then stacking the ring-shaped piece on top of the disc-shaped piece. This pastry is usually found filled with savory ingredients, but can also have a sweet filling.
The pastry and its catchy name vol-au-vent are sometimes credited to Antonin Carême. However, an entremet called "petits gâteaux vole au vent" is mentioned in François Marin's 1739 cookbook Les Dons de Comus, years before Carême's birth.
In France it is usually served as an appetizer or a small snack, filled with chicken or fish. In Belgium it is a common main dish that can be found on the menus of most restaurants. It is nearly always filled with a combination of chicken, mushrooms and small meatballs, and served with either mashed potatoes or fries. This Belgian variation is also available in some places in The Netherlands where it is called "koninginnehapje" (snack of the queen).
- Vol-au-vent. CooksInfo.com. Published 09/25/2007. Updated 09/25/2009. Web. Retrieved 10/08/2012 from http://www.cooksinfo.com/vol-au-vent.
- Kelly, Ian (2005 ). Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, the First Celebrity Chef. New York: Walker & Company. pp. 16, 60. ISBN 0-8027-7731-7.
- Marin, Francois (1739). Les Dons de Comus ou les Délices de la Table (in French). Paris: Chez Prault, Fils. pp. 222 and 235. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
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