Helped like few others, puff pastry will be present on many Christmas tables. Its crunchy texture is irresistible and a perfect base, especially for appetizers and starters. One of the most classic ways to serve party snacks are volauvaneswhich they already sell prepared but that we can also make at home.
Worth the effort? Without a doubt, since it is very simple and does not require spending too much time. The commercials are usually of poor quality; it is best to buy a good quality refrigerated or frozen puff pastry and make our homemade volauvans to taste.
We show you the step by step of this small culinary craft and some ideas to personalize them.
What do we need
The basic and, logically, most important ingredient or material is the puff pastry. It is worth investigating the market until we find a good brand that we like, checking the ingredients well. The best will be made plain or with a high percentage of butter, without hydrogenated vegetable fats or aromas, and preferably without sugar.
We will use 1-2 eggs to paint the dough and acquire that beautiful golden color, plus optional ingredients to give the volauvans more flavor.
As work materials, we will need:
- 1 roller.
- 2 cookie cutters, round or square, one larger.
- 1 small kitchen brush
- 1 fork or toothpick.
- Plastic film.
- sulfurized baking paper
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With a rectangular sheet and using small cutters we can obtain about 4 units; worth prepare double with two masses, since the process is fast. We will cut small rings of dough to superimpose them in a tower.
As for the cutters size, the smaller the second, the thicker the walls of the vol-au-vans; the dough will spread less and the bites will be more satisfying, so I recommend, if possible, cutting thinner rings.
we start preheating the oven at 200º C and preparing one or two trays or dishes, with sheets of baking paper. Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl and prepare the clean work surface.
we stretch the puff pastry dough on the table or on baking paper -often the paper itself that carries the dough will serve us-, using the rolling pin gently, leaving it as thin as possible without breaking it when handling it.
Next we cut two complete discs and deposited them on a baking tray; prick them with a fork or toothpick so that it does not rise when baked, and paint with the beaten egg.
Now we will mark the rest of the dough with the large cutter, pressing well. We remove the excess doughwe re-knead it and wrap it in plastic film, leaving it in the fridge.
With the small cutter, we are removing rings of dough from the cut discs. Carefully, we take them off and place them on the already prepared bases, always painting each ring with egg, and pressing gently.
The idea is to create superimposed mass ring towers up to a height of about 5 cm. Depending on the thickness of the rings we will use about 6-8, also depending on how high we want them. Let’s remember that they will grow a lot in the oven.
We continue re-kneading the puff pastry dough to repeat the process and continue with the other mass if we are going to double quantities. We finish with a final bath of beaten egg on the upper part and the entire body of the towers, making sure that it does not drip too much.
Bake at medium height until well browned, for about 15-25 minutes, depending on how big they are. it suits keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Once out of the oven, wait a few moments before letting them cool on a wire rack, always handling them carefully.
What to fill the volauvans with
We can use the volaunes directly or get them ready in advance, stored in a closed container in a cool and dry place. They can be kept in the fridge for one or two days, making sure that humidity does not affect them too much.
To give them a different touch we can sprinkle the dough with aromatic herbs, spices, grated cheese or seeds. As for the filling, the possibilities are almost endless, from the classic shrimp cocktail to a vegetarian Russian salad, a good seafood filling, or perhaps a tasty mushroom sauce, classic salad or salad, vegetable ratatouille, etc.
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Direct to the Palate we love these parties and we have thousands of recipes for you to be sure of your Christmas meals.
Do not miss our special with the 215 best Christmas recipes and 16 special menus. and if you need ideas for specific dishesHere’s a good starting point:
Live to the Palate | Puff pastry spirals and Parmesan two flavors. Recipe to snack
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