And after a series of Christmas-themed desserts, here are some savory ideas, appetizing and quick to present during the Christmas holidays! These are small and crispy puff pastry baskets, perfect to serve as a starter, in finger food style! These vol-au-vents are very easy to prepare and being also very eye-catching, they will be your ace up the sleeve! Their peculiarity is that you can fill them as you wish, based on taste and creativity, because the combinations of flavors and aromas to fill them are truly countless. Undoubtedly, they are excellent to make for special occasions, such as big lunches on holidays or anniversaries, but nothing prevents you from bringing them to the table even on normal days, giving your lunch or dinner that extra touch! I confess that you can easily find them in supermarkets and specialty stores, but know that you can easily make them at home. I chose to fill them with a delicious mortadella mousse and pistachios to serve as an appetizer, sure that your guests will appreciate it as much as mine did, but you can try a thousand other variations, all inviting and tantalizing!
If you love focusing on appetizers for holiday dinners or lunches, try these other eye-catching alternatives:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10Pieces
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: French
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring, Christmas
Ingredients
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- 2 rolls puff pastry (230 gr each.)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3.5 oz mortadella
- 2.8 oz ricotta
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 0.5 oz pistachio crumbs
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 2 Pastry cutter
- 1 Fork
- 1 Brush
- 1 Knife
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Parchment paper
- Scissors
Preparation
Unroll the 2 rectangles of puff pastry and, with the help of a pastry cutter or cookie cutters, cut out many 2.5 inch Ø discs, trying as much as possible to avoid leftovers. Pierce the center of 10 of these discs with a fork to prevent them from puffing up during baking. On the remaining discs, make a central hole using a smaller pastry cutter of about 1.5 inch Ø to create many crowns.
Brush them with the beaten egg and milk and overlap 2 crowns on each one, making sure to brush with the beaten egg on the edges as well. This operation not only serves to fix the crowns together but also gives them their characteristic golden color. You can use the leftover puff pastry to cut out other small decorations. You’ll get 10 this way.
Bake in a preheated oven at 392°F for about 15′ or until they are puffed and golden on top. Let them cool outside the oven. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: cut the mortadella into cubes, saving a few for the final decoration, and place it in a mixer or food processor together with the fresh ricotta and the 2 tablespoons of milk.
Start blending in pulses until you obtain a creamy puree, then add the chopped pistachio, salt, and pepper to taste.
Continue blending (if the mixture appears too grainy, add a few more tablespoons of milk) until you obtain a soft and homogeneous mousse.
Once ready, place the mortadella mousse in a piping bag, cut the tip with scissors, and fill your cooled vol-au-vents.
Decorate with the mortadella cubes set aside and serve! And voilà… the vol-au-vents with mortadella mousse and pistachio crumbs are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 The vol-au-vents with mortadella mousse and pistachio crumbs can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days in suitable refrigeration containers, preferably glass.
👉 The vol-au-vents with mortadella mousse and pistachio crumbs can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days in suitable refrigeration containers, preferably glass.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣If time is short, you can speed up preparation by buying ready-to-bake vol-au-vents and focusing only on preparing the mortadella and pistachio mousse.
