Bouchées à la Reine (Queen’s Bite)

Queen’s Bite is a traditional pastry charcuterie of French gastronomy made up of an individual vol-au-vent (puff pastry crumble), its garnish and bechamel sauce. It is served as a starter and served hot.

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Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 20-25 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:

• 400 gr puff pastry

• 1 egg yolk

• 200 gr chicken breast

• 200 gr button mushrooms

• 1 chopped onion

• 1 grated garlic clove

• 3 tbsp green peas (optional)

• Ground black pepper

• Salt

• Fresh thyme

• Olive oil

Bechamel Sauce:

• 40 gr butter

• 2 tbsp (30 gr) flour

• 250 ml milk

• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

• ¾  tsp salt

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INSTRUCTIONS:

For Croutes Bouchées;

• To make bite size crust, start by rolling out the puff pastry approx. 3-4 mm thick on a floured surface.

• Cut the dough into 6 discs form (10cm/4”) with a round cookie cutter and transfer to the oven tray with parchment layer. Then brush egg yolks on them.

• Cut the remaining dough into 6 more discs, then cut out almost half of the rounds to form the lids with a smaller round cutter (6cm/2”). Place on the other discs on the tray and brush egg yolks brush.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180C/356F.

For Garnish;

• Heat a pan with olive oil. Cook chopped onions with grated garlic for 1-2 minutes.

• Cut the mushrooms into small pieces then add to the pan. Cook them together for about 2-3 minutes.

• Add the green beans and chicken breast (cut into small cubes) and cook for 5-6 minutes until brown. Add pepper, salt and thyme.

• Pour the bechamel sauce over the garnish.

For Bechamel Sauce;

• Heat butter to melt in a pan then add the flour, cook them while stirring constantly. But do not let it brown.

• Pour the milk while continuing to stir until the sauce thickens. Bring to boil and add salt, pepper and nutmeg stirring for 1 minutes and remove from the heat.

• Put the garnish in the Croutes Bouchées and serve.

Bon Appetit…