What to serve with?
Treat it like you would a pie and serve with buttery mashed potato, peas and a salad. Or steamed tenderstem broccoli for some much needed greenery. Perhaps at this time of year you might like to serve it with some sautéed spouts with bacon and chestnuts. But sometimes just a big bowl of salad with a lovely vinaigrette and maybe some peas jumbled in is all you need to go with it.

Can I make it vegetarian?
Absolutely! I love love a mushroom vol au vent. Add cheese if you want, but you don’t have to. I always add lots of parsley.

Variations
Really the sky is the limit. But to get the ball rolling, a combination of any of these: sliced sprouts, mushrooms, extra garlic, sweetcorn, chopped ham, bacon bits, cheese from the cheeseboard…lots of herbs: tarragon (dried or fresh), parsley, chives.

You can make different sizes
Mini vol au vents make the loveliest little canapé. You just need two different sized cookie cutters cut out using the larger (1¼ inch) cookie cutter, cut as many rounds as possible from the dough. Reserve ⅓ of the puff pastry rounds. With the remaining ⅔ of rounds, use the smaller cookie cutter (¾ inch) to punch the center out of the larger rounds, creating a small ring of pastry. To assemble, stack two rings of pastry on top of each larger circle of dough. Use a pastry brush to apply egg wash as an adhesive between each layer. One of those things that’s a bit of a mouthful to explain but is really very simple when you do it.