Vol-au-vent is one of the most Belgian dishes there are. Or at least, that's what I thought. Apparently, it originates from French cuisine, where they invented a puff pastry that was so light that it could fly away. The name vol-au-vent literally refers to flying away with the wind, so it's not an abbreviation of volaille au ventre, which for some reason is what I made myself believe.
In Belgium, when we talk about vol-au-vent, we generally think of a ragout of poultry and mushrooms. The pastry has become more of an afterthought and I usually leave it out. The ragout, on the other hand, is pure nostalgia for me. Luckily, it's very easy to veganise with vegan fillet pieces: a plant-based alternative to chicken pieces, usually made from soy. I made it with the Belgian Greenway "just like chicken" fillet pieces.
300gvegan fillet pieces (e.g. Greenway “just like chicken” fillet pieces or De Vegetarische Slager Poulettekes)
250gwhite or brown mushrooms and/or oyster mushrooms
1onion
2small garlic cloves
50gmargarine
50gflour
600mlunsweetened soy milk
2tbspblonde miso paste (e.g. shiro miso)
1tbsplemon juice
nutmeg
black pepper
salt
1tbspparsley
1dashoil
Optional
¼celeriac
salsify
Directions
1
Dice the onion. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into large pieces.
Never rinse your mushrooms with water: if you do that, they will absorb it and release the moisture during baking. As a result, your mushrooms are boiled or steamed instead of baked. So all you have to do is brush away the dirty bits.
2
Sauté the chopped onion in a large pan with some oil.
3
Add the vegan fillet pieces and the mushroom pieces together with the pressed garlic cloves. Bake until the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and everything is nicely browned. This gives the dish extra flavour. Then set aside.
Tip: are you making several portions? Then bake the mushrooms in two or more times to leave enough space in the pan. This way, the moisture that is already present in the mushrooms gets the chance to evaporate.
Extra tip: you can also add cubes of celeriac or bite-sized pieces of salsify as an extra. The taste and texture of these root vegetables go very well with a vol-au-vegan.
4
Now make the roux in a large saucepan. Melt the margarine on medium heat and add the flour. Keep stirring well with a whisk until you get a slight smell of biscuits. At that point you can add the unsweetened soy milk. Keep stirring as you bring it to a boil to thicken the sauce.
5
Season with the blonde miso paste, lemon juice, nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
6
Finally, mix in the fried fillet pieces and mushrooms along with the finely chopped parsley.
7
Serve with fries, croquettes or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Ingredients
300gvegan fillet pieces (e.g. Greenway “just like chicken” fillet pieces or De Vegetarische Slager Poulettekes)
250gwhite or brown mushrooms and/or oyster mushrooms
1onion
2small garlic cloves
50gmargarine
50gflour
600mlunsweetened soy milk
2tbspblonde miso paste (e.g. shiro miso)
1tbsplemon juice
nutmeg
black pepper
salt
1tbspparsley
1dashoil
Optional
¼celeriac
salsify
Directions
1
Dice the onion. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into large pieces.
Never rinse your mushrooms with water: if you do that, they will absorb it and release the moisture during baking. As a result, your mushrooms are boiled or steamed instead of baked. So all you have to do is brush away the dirty bits.
2
Sauté the chopped onion in a large pan with some oil.
3
Add the vegan fillet pieces and the mushroom pieces together with the pressed garlic cloves. Bake until the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and everything is nicely browned. This gives the dish extra flavour. Then set aside.
Tip: are you making several portions? Then bake the mushrooms in two or more times to leave enough space in the pan. This way, the moisture that is already present in the mushrooms gets the chance to evaporate.
Extra tip: you can also add cubes of celeriac or bite-sized pieces of salsify as an extra. The taste and texture of these root vegetables go very well with a vol-au-vegan.
4
Now make the roux in a large saucepan. Melt the margarine on medium heat and add the flour. Keep stirring well with a whisk until you get a slight smell of biscuits. At that point you can add the unsweetened soy milk. Keep stirring as you bring it to a boil to thicken the sauce.
5
Season with the blonde miso paste, lemon juice, nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
6
Finally, mix in the fried fillet pieces and mushrooms along with the finely chopped parsley.
7
Serve with fries, croquettes or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
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AuthorZjefCategoryBelgian cuisine, Main dishDifficultyBeginner