Asiago Food 
Christmas is the most magical and sweet time of the year, when serenity lingers in the air, cities and nature light up, and spending time with friends and family becomes even more precious.
It’s the season for gathering with loved ones and enjoying time together, perhaps over a beautifully laid table. Everyone has their favorite holiday recipes, but we want to share a quick, tasty appetizer that’s perfect for your Christmas celebrations.
Our suggestion for your Christmas aperitif is mixed mushroom and taleggio vol-au-vents: inviting puff pastry baskets that are simple to make but truly flavorful.
Mushroom and Taleggio cheese vol-au-vent
Ingredients:
For 4 vol-au-vents:
- Puff pastry (ready-made or homemade)
- Whole milk to taste
For the filling:
- Asiago Food frozen porcini and chanterelle mushrooms
- Taleggio cheese 50 g
- Garlic clove 1
- White wine 100 ml
- Fresh thyme to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Thinly sliced speck (optional)
Preparation:
For the baskets:
Let’s start by preparing the base for the 4 vol-au-vents.
Take the puff pastry, roll it out, and use a pastry cutter to cut out 12 disks with a diameter of about 9-10 cm. Place 4 disks on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and prick them with a fork so the pastry doesn’t puff up too much during baking.
For the walls of the baskets, cut the remaining 8 disks with a smaller pastry cutter (about 7-8 cm) to create “rings” with a hollow center. Brush the surface with milk (alternatively, use an egg beaten with a little milk) and place two of these rings on top of each pastry base previously placed on the parchment paper.
Brush everything again with milk and then bake in a preheated static oven at 200°C for 10 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and turned golden brown.
For the filling:
While the vol-au-vent bases are cooking, prepare the filling.
Drizzle a pan with extra virgin olive oil, add the thyme and the unpeeled garlic clove. Once the oil is hot, slice the still-frozen porcini and add them to the pan along with the whole chanterelles.
Deglaze the mushrooms with white wine and sauté them, continuing to cook until they are tender. Season with salt and pepper, turn off the heat, and set aside.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, it’s time for the speck. Heat a pan well and place the speck slices side by side, searing them until they are crispy. You can also do this step in the microwave at about 700W for 30 seconds.
With the pastry bases and filling ready, it’s time to assemble the vol-au-vents.
Take each pastry basket and fill it with the cooked mushrooms and cubes of taleggio cheese. If necessary, before serving, warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes so that the cheese softens and the pastry stays fragrant. When plating, place the crispy speck on top of the vol-au-vents.
