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photograph of bouchee a la reine served with green beans and mashed potatoes
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Bouchées à La Reine

An easy French recipe including puff pastry and a savory chicken filling.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Appetizer, Chicken, Dinner, easy, French
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 Puff pastry sheets or 6 vol-au-vent if in France/Europe
  • 1 Egg (if using puff pastry)
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil 15ml
  • 1 Clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Yellow onion, minced
  • 1 Chicken breast
  • 2/3 cup Mushrooms 85g
  • 1/2 cup Peas (canned) 64g
  • 1/2 cup Corn (canned) 64g
  • 4 tbsp Butter 57g
  • 1/2 cup Flour 64g
  • 2 cup Milk 475ml
  • Nutmeg pinch
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • Dill to taste

Instructions

Puff Pastry Method

  • Place the puff pastry sheets on a flat surface and use a bowl or cup to cut out 6 circles of 3-4 inch diameter per sheet. You will have a total of 12 circles once finished.
    six cut out circles of puff pastry
  • Take 6 of the circles and, being careful not to fully cut through the dough, make a smaller circle inside. These will be your top layers.
    cutting second layer of puff pastry circles
  • Egg wash the bottom 6 circles, then place a top circle on each bottom circle, egg wash the entire thing.
    puff pastry sheets cut into circles and placed on cooking sheet
  • Bake at 400°F/205°C for 20-25 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. While pastry bakes, work on making the filling.
    Cooked puff pastry shells fresh out the oven
  • Once baked, use a knife to remove the circular top part which has puffed up. Place filling inside and put the cap back on. Serve with a side of rice.

Vol-au-Vent Method

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
  • Remove the cap from the vol-au-vent with a knife. Place filling inside and replace caps.
  • Bake in oven for 10 minutes so that the pastry warms. Serve with a side of rice.

Filling

  • Cut the chicken into small cubes and chop the mushrooms (and any other vegetables) into small pieces.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Brown the chicken cubes and set aside.
  • Next, cook your mushrooms and other vegetables, set aside.
  • In the same pan, melt butter over medium heat. Wisk in flour, cooking for 1 minute over medium heat, whisking constantly. Add the milk and a pinch of nutmeg while continuing to whisk constantly. Season with salt, pepper and other desired herbs (I like to add dill to the recipe, but you can season as you wish).
  • Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Once the sauce is thick and creamy, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chicken and vegetables. If you find the mixture to be too thick, you can always add in more milk.