Bouchée à la reine

On the occasion of the week dedicated to the Palace of Versailles, we have found a recipe of the time: the "bouchées à la reine" (or vol-au-vent). 

Indeed, it is to Marie Leczinska (1703-1768), queen of France and wife of Louis XV, that we owe the delicious recipe of the bouchées à la reine. Inspired by pastries made with sweet puff pastry such as the "puits d'amour" created by the chef Vincent La Chapelle, and made for her rival Madame de Pompadour, Marie ordered from the Court kitchens, and in particular from Nicolas Stohrer, creator of the "baba au rhum", a dish to try to awaken the ardor of her unfaithful husband. This is how she came up with the idea of "bouchées à la reine". This recipe did not really have the effect expected by the queen, since King Louis XV accumulated infidelities until the end of his life. On the other hand, the "bouchée à la reine" has largely passed into posterity. Today, the bouchée à la reine is an essential dish of French gastronomy and a must of the patisserie, just like the pâté lorrain or the quiche lorraine.

Preparation: 30 min

Cooking: 2 h

Total: 2 h 30 min

 

Ingredients :

For the vol-au-vent

2 rolls of puff pastry (800 g)

1 egg

For the mushrooms

600 g of button mushrooms

20 g of butter

For the chicken

1 chicken (1 kg)

2 carrots, cut into 3 cm pieces

1 onion

1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)

For the sauce

50 ml of white wine

1 egg yolk

100 ml of liquid cream

50 g of butter

30 g of flour

Salt

Pepper

Necessary equipment

1 round fluted cookie cutter, 10 cm

1 round fluted cookie cutter, 5 cm

Pastry brush

 

How to make it:

Vol-au-vent

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

In the two rolls of puff pastry, cut out circles using the 10 cm diameter cookie cutter.

In one of the rolls, cut out circles with the 5 cm diameter cookie cutter, inside the first circles. Detach the two circles to make rings.

Place the 5 circles and the 5 rings on top of each circle on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and add a tablespoon of water.

Using the brush, apply the egg mixture to the circles and rings, taking care to stay in the middle of the dough and not cover the sides, to ensure even baking and to allow the dough to rise.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the vol-au-vent is golden brown.

Wait a few minutes for the vol-au-vent to cool.

Cut out the middle of the circle to create a well for the sauce.

Salpicon

Place the chicken in a large casserole dish and cover with cold salted water.

Bring to a boil and skim if necessary, then add the carrot, onion and bouquet garni.

Cook covered for 1 1/2 hours over medium-low heat.

Remove the chicken and place it on a plate.

Wait about 10 minutes for the chicken to cool.

Cut up the chicken and remove the flesh. Cut into 1 cm cubes.

Strain the cooking broth through a sieve. Pour into a saucepan and reduce to one liter.

Clean the mushrooms and cut them into 4 pieces.

Brown them in a pan with the butter for 5 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt the 50 g of butter.

Add the flour and mix with a spatula to obtain a smooth mixture.

Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring.

Remove from heat and pour 500 ml of the boiling chicken stock over the cold roux.

Stir with a whisk to obtain a smooth mixture.

Return to the heat and bring to a boil while continuing to whisk.

Season and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Add broth if necessary to obtain a semi-thick consistency, then pour in the white wine.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream.

Add a ladleful of boiling velouté to the egg and cream mixture, whisking well to bring the mixture to the right temperature without scrambling the egg.

Pour the contents of the bowl little by little over the velouté while continuing to whisk.

Add the mushrooms to the sauce and bring back to a boil.

Dressing

Place a vol-au-vent in the middle of a plate. Spoon a few spoonfuls of the salpicon inside each vol-au-vent.

Notes:

Cover with the puff pastry. Pour a little salpicon on the side and/or serve with a green salad.

 

-Jade