Vol-au-vent with Cheese Mousse

The “Vol-au-vent with cheese mousse” are an elegant and refined dish, perfect for appetizers or aperitifs. We will prepare vol-au-vent, which are small puff pastry containers, and fill them with a delicate cheese mousse. For an Italian variant, we could use a creamy Italian cheese such as ricotta or mascarpone.

Ingredients for the vol-au-vent:

• Ready-made puff pastry, 1 roll
• 1 egg yolk (for glazing)

Ingredients for the cheese mousse:

• 250g soft cheese (for example: ricotta or mascarpone)
• 50g fresh cream
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Chopped chives, for garnish
• Other flavorings to taste (such as grated lemon zest or aromatic herbs)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
2. Roll out the puff pastry and use a round cutter (or a glass) to cut out circles. Use a smaller cutter to make another circle in the center of half of the discs, creating rings.
3. Brush the base of the full discs with the beaten egg yolk, then layer the rings on top, press lightly to make them adhere, and brush the top surface with egg as well.
4. Bake on a baking tray lined with parchment paper for about 12-15 minutes or until golden.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese mousse: work the cheese with a spatula until creamy, then fold in the whipped cream, and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
6. Once the vol-au-vent have cooled, gently remove the central “lid” and fill the inside with the cheese mousse.
7. Garnish with chopped chives and serve.

Trivia

The term “vol-au-vent” means “flight in the wind” in French, symbolizing the lightness of this puff pastry preparation which, if well executed, should be light as if it could “fly away with a puff of wind”.

To make the dish even more Italian, you could add a light pesto or chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the recipe, for an extra touch of color and flavor.