Vol-au-Vent

Often attributed to the great chef Antonin Carême in the early nineteenth century, though a recipe for 'petits gâteaux vole au vent' already appears in François Marin's 1739 cookbook; Carême is better credited with perfecting the lighter, higher-rising puff pastry that made the case famous, the vol-au-vent — French for 'flight on the wind' — was named for pastry so light it seemed it might blow away. The hollow puff case became a showpiece of classical service, most famously filled as 'bouchée à la reine', a creamy ragout linked to Queen Marie Leszczyńska.

The pastry shatters into hundreds of buttery, flaking layers, crisp on the outside and tender within. Inside waits a warm, creamy ragout, savoury and rich with tender chicken and earthy mushrooms bound in a silky sauce that soaks gently into the pastry.

Laminated puff pastry traps water between butter layers; in the oven the steam forces the layers apart, lifting the case sky-high while the flour sets into crisp leaves. A roux-thickened sauce binds the filling so it stays creamy and clings inside the fragile shell.