Air Fryer Chicken and Asparagus Vol-au-Vents (Tarteletter)

September 29, 2019

Air Fryer Chicken and Asparagus Vol-au-Vents (Tarteletter)

Tarteletter med høns i asparges — vol-au-vent shells filled with creamed chicken and asparagus — is a Danish classic from the cold table. The dish belongs to the Easter and Christmas spread and is also served as a starter or a lunch dish. Crisp puff-pastry shells are filled with a creamy stew of chicken and white asparagus, bound in a flour-thickened sauce.

Here the shells are baked crisp in the air fryer at 355°F (180°C), while the filling itself is made on the stove. The air fryer gives the shells a crisp base without the oven’s long preheat, but the filling can’t go in it: the moisture from the stew softens the shells. So the shells and filling are kept separate until they are assembled just before serving.

The sauce is a classic roux of equal parts butter and flour, let down with asparagus liquid, the poaching liquid from the meat and a little cream. The asparagus liquid carries the classic flavor, so don’t pour it out. The meat can be poached chicken breast on a weekday, or a whole boiled hen if you want the authentic, deep flavor and a homemade chicken stock for the sauce.

Garnish with chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper, and serve at once, while the shells are still crisp.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Tartlet shells

2 sheets (1 roll) ready-rolled puff pastry (or homemade laminated puff pastry, see notes)
butter (or cooking spray), for the tins

For poaching the meat

400-500 g chicken breast (about 2-3 pieces), or ½ boiled hen
3-4 dl chicken stock (or water)
1 onion (about 100 g), in rough pieces
1 carrot (about 100 g), in rough pieces
2-3 bay leaves
4-5 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp salt

Asparagus sauce

50 g butter
50 g wheat flour
1 can white asparagus cuts (about 250 g), liquid reserved
3 dl poaching liquid (strained, from the poaching)
1 dl whipping cream
1 dl milk, for letting down as needed
1 dl frozen peas, blanched (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper
a few drops of lemon juice, to taste

To serve

fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Tartlet shells

Roll out the puff pastry and cut circles to fit muffin or tartlet tins. Grease the tins, and gently press the pastry down into them.

Put the tins in the air fryer, and lay a double rack or an extra tin on top of each shell, so the pastry is held down and doesn’t rise unevenly. Bake at 355°F (180°C) for about 8 minutes.

Remove the rack, turn the shells out of the tins, and give them about 4 minutes more at 355°F (180°C), until the base is crisp and golden, around 12 minutes in all. If you’re using store-bought shells, crisp them up at 355°F (180°C) for 3-5 minutes. Keep the shells crisp until serving.

For poaching the meat

Put the chicken breasts in a saucepan with the stock, onion, carrot, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Bring to a boil, turn down, and let it simmer gently for about 15 minutes. A whole hen needs to boil for about 45-60 minutes. Lift out the meat, let it cool a little, and cut it into dice or shred it into strands with two forks. Strain the poaching liquid, and save about 3 dl for the sauce.

Asparagus sauce

Melt the 50 g butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook the roux through, whisking hard, for about 2 minutes, without letting it take on color. Let it down first with the asparagus liquid while whisking, then gradually with the 3 dl poaching liquid and the cream. Whisk to a smooth, creamy sauce, and let it cook through for 2-3 minutes. Let it down with a little milk if needed, until the consistency is creamy but not runny.

Drain the asparagus cuts. Fold the shredded or diced meat and the asparagus into the sauce, and add the blanched peas if using. Warm through gently, and season with salt, freshly ground pepper and, if you like, a few drops of lemon juice.

To serve

Fill the warm, crisp shells with the hot stew just before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper, and serve at once.

Notes

If you want to make the shells from scratch, you can fold your own laminated puff pastry: 340 g butter, 400 g wheat flour, 2½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2-2¼ dl water. Otherwise, ready-rolled puff pastry is a fine shortcut.

Keep the shells and filling separate until serving. Otherwise the moisture from the stew softens the shells, so never fill them before they’re to be eaten, and never put sauce in the shells before the air fryer.

The asparagus water gives the sauce its classic flavor, so don’t pour it out. Use it as the first liquid for letting down the roux.

The most authentic version boils a whole hen for soup and uses both the meat and the broth. That gives the deepest flavor and a proper chicken soup for the sauce.

The dish can be made ahead. Store the stew and shells separately; crisp the shells up again in the air fryer, and reheat the stew gently on the stove.