We all know France is the mother of culinary art, but you don’t have to be a master chef to bring a bit of French cuisine into your home—especially not with this delightful recipe for fresh Vol au Vent from chef Ian Anderson.

As the new head chef of New York City’s LaLou in Prospect Heights, chef Anderson brings French influence to the beloved menu, taking with him his experience as chef de cuisine at Le Coucou.

This recipe for a vegetarian vol-au-vent was one of the first things he brought, as well as an expansive wine pairing program and wine-infused goodies, from vinegars made with wine to a Creme de Tomate made with white wine, which factors into this very recipe below!

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“A vol-au-vent is a very traditional French preparation and actually means “wind blown” for its lightness,” Anderson says. “We love the very classical method here at Lalou for its endless versatility that we love to present in a simple and elegant way. This is a deliberate nod to old-style French cuisine, but we take the stuffiness and pretension out of it by highlighting amazing fresh local produce that a New York Summer provides.”

Chef Anderson is using this recipe as a rotating vegetarian dish to showcase the market vegetables of the season. The below recipe calls for tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, but you’re only limited to your imagination.

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“At its core, [a vol-au-vent] is simply a baked puff pastry cup, and this cup can be filled with whatever you desire,” Anderson continues. “At Lalou we like to do this as a vegetarian option for our guests, that is also something that non-vegetarians would also enjoy. We have filled ours with everything from roasted mushrooms to even braised veal cheeks for our meat lovers. Soft scrambled eggs are also a wonderful choice that is available on our lunch menu.

“This version is what we have for our current summer menu. Great tomatoes at the height of the season, with sweet roasted onions. Finished with a Creme de Tomate with lots of fresh tarragon. Make sure to burst the tomatoes into the sauce—it is the finish to this dish!”

Vegetarian Vol-au-Vent

Ingredients:

Creme de Tomate

• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup vermouth
• 1 cup of sliced shallots
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 1 cup of sliced button mushrooms
• 1 cup of sliced shallots
• 1 cup of diced tomatoes, fresh
• 1 quart of heavy cream
• 6 sprigs of tarragon
• 3 tsp of salt
• Hardware: One large pot

Roasted Tomato

• 3 cups of Sungold tomatoes
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 pinches of salt
• Hardware: one sheet tray

Roasted Cippolini Onions

• 10 onions
• ¼ cup of canola oil
• Hardware: one sauté pan

Vol-au-Vent Pastry

• 2 packs of frozen puff pastry
• 2 whole eggs
• Hardware: 70-size ring mold, 90-size ring mold, one sheet tray, brush

Directions:

Creme de Tomate

1. Melt the butter in a large pot. Once melted, add in your sliced shallots and mushrooms. We want to sweat down these items without adding any color.
2. Once the shallots are translucent, add in your tomatoes and cook them until they start to lose structure.
3. Then, add in your white wine and vermouth.
4. Reduce this until the liquid has reduced by ¾ths of the original amount.
5. Then, add in your cream and cook at a simmer for half an hour.
6. Strain out all the solids, making sure to push any liquid out of them.
7. Once strained, chop the tarragon and add it in to finish the sauce.
8. Finish with salt. Add more if desired.

Roasted Tomato

1. Place your tomatoes on the sheet tray and season with olive oil and salt.
2. Bake these at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

Roasted Cippolini Onions

1. Peel the onions completely.
2. Once peeled, slice them perpendicular to the root so they have a nice flat surface.
3. Preheat your sauté pan over medium heat with the oil.
4. Sear the onions on the cut side only. Once nice and golden brown, remove them from the heat.

Vol-au-Vent Pastry

1. Crack open your two eggs and scramble them. We are creating an egg wash.
2. Defrost your puff pastry and lay it out flat. Cut your puff pastry in half.
3. On one half, brush liberally with the egg wash. With the other half, use the 70-size ring cutter to punch holes into the puff pastry.
4. Once you have punched the holes in the puff pastry, lay it on top of the side with the egg wash. Using the 90-size ring punch, cut around the previous holes. Leaving a small ring of puff pastry on top.
5. Place the punched puff pastry in the freezer. We want them to be completely frozen. We are going to bake the puff pastry from frozen so it will cook very evenly.
6. Bake the puff pastry at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool.
7. Once they are cooled down, you can use a small paring knife to hollow out the middle.

Creating the Vol-au-Vent

If you are entertaining, all of these items can be cooked ahead of time. Just re-warm them when you are ready to serve.

The presentation of this dish is very simple. Fill the Vol au Vent with the warm tomatoes and roasted onions. Drizzle the sauce in and around the Vol au Vent. Do not be shy with the sauce. You will want lots of it! Garnish with some more tarragon and enjoy!

Visit LaLou in NYC and online for more delicious dishes and inspiration.