From The Taste of Things · 2023 · Reconstructed
Crayfish Vol-au-Vent
Serve when
Serve it just after the consommé, the pastry still warm — a windblown case of puff pastry filled with a creamy tangle of crayfish and garden vegetables.
In the movie
Theatrical
- 00:23:34 At the opening feast, the vol-au-vent — a tall puff-pastry case filled with a rich, creamy ragout of crayfish and vegetables from Eugénie's garden. 'Was the vol-au-vent good?' she asks; the answer, as always, is written on the guests' faces.
Vol-au-vent means "flies away on the wind," for pastry so light it seems weightless — and the film lingers on it as one of the feast's small marvels, a fragile golden case cradling something rich and warm. It's Eugénie's cooking in miniature: technically demanding, generous to the point of tenderness, and offered without a word of self-congratulation. "Was the vol-au-vent good?" she asks, already knowing.
Ingredients
Method
- If using live crayfish, boil them briefly — 3–4 minutes, until the shells turn scarlet — then pick the tail meat and reserve the shells for stock (see the consommé). Keep the picked meat cold.
- Warm the vol-au-vent cases in a low oven so they're crisp and hot when you fill them.
- Melt the butter and soften the shallot, carrot, and peas without coloring. Stir in the flour and cook a minute to make a blond roux.
- Deglaze with the white wine, then whisk in the stock and cream. Simmer to a velvety sauce that coats a spoon. Brighten with lemon, a whisper of cayenne, and salt.
- Fold in the crayfish tails just to warm them through — don't let them toughen.
- Spoon the creamy ragout into the warm pastry cases, letting it spill a little at the rim, and scatter with chervil. Serve at once, before the pastry softens.
Substitutions
- Crayfish: cooked, peeled shrimp or langoustine tails stand in beautifully; the sauce and the pastry are the soul of the dish, the shellfish is the luxury.
- Puff cases: good store-bought vol-au-vent shells save hours and let you focus on the filling — no shame in it.
Beyond the recipe
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