The vol-au-vent (or “croustade”) is a dish made frombaked puff pastry garnished with a savoury preparation. In the Hérault area (Languedoc), we garnish it with the traditional “ragoût d’escoubilles” (leftovers casserole) – clic. My grandmother enjoyed serving it as a starter for Christmas.
Serves 6 to 8
“Ragoût d’escoubilles” (leftovers casserole)
(can be made a few days in advance) See my recipe here – clic 
Puff pastry
(you will need two sheets) You can choose any: a classic fuff pastry, upside down puff pastry – clic, a quick & easy one – clic – or just buy it.
Baking & serving
Roll two sheets of dough, same size each. Put a bit of water all around the first sheet of dough. Put the other one on top and shape the top “opening” with a knife (see pictures). Spread some eggyolk and bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. Open delicately the vol-au-vent, fill with some drained ragoût and serve. Serve the rest of the ragoût on the side in your casserole.
Wine Match
We enjoyed this dish with a supple and fruit-driven wine, the l’art-amont by Benoît Braujou (Domaine Font Sanatis) on the Terrasses du Larzac (Hérault). A surprising wine as the Aramon grape variety had a very bad reputation for many years in the Languedoc. By keeping yields very low, Benoît offers a very refreshing wine with strong blackcurrant and blueberry notes. A great discovery at the Aniane Wine Fair! 
