When an Alsatian man told me that the food he missed most from Alsace was Bouchées à la Reine, a buttery pastry filled with a béchamel-type sauce called a sauce suprême, I figured my chances of ever eating it were slim…
…but when his eyes filled with nostalgia and I saw how much he loved the dish, I swore to make a version so that I could experience that joy myself.
But vol-au-vent pastry? That’s not an easy gluten free feat.
“You don’t have to make it yourself,” he said. “We never did.” Oh thank goodness, I thought. Though his father was a baker and he basically spent his childhood watching his father knead bread, even his family bought the pastry for Bouchées à la Reine from a patisserie.
But, again, gluten free and dairy free is a little tougher. Until I realized that there are two miraculous gluten free, mostly dairy free or vegan bakeries in Montreal that make incredible pastry. And they sold vol-au-vents by the unit (or by the half dozen online for delivery in Montreal).
This Alsatian told me his mom made the savoury sauce suprême with chicken and liver, but most of the recipes I found (in English or French) called for veal shoulder or sweetbreads. I couldn’t find any other recipes for organ meats at all. That’s another problem…
…because I don’t usually eat veal. But any excuse to try something new is welcome. And since I had never prepared sweetbreads before – and could find organic sweetbreads at the Atwater Market – I figured now was my chance. I even had a Riesling that would go perfectly with the creamy, rich dish. It wasn’t Alsatian, but it was dry.
Though, charmingly, one of the recipes I found had the following wine pairing warning/suggestion: “Taste (with moderation) an Alsatian white wine: Riesling, Pinot Blanc ou Tokay Pinot Gris.” I was appropriately moderate with my Riesling.
One reason not a lot of people cook sweetbreads at home is because they don’t know what they are. Another reason is because they’re from the thymus or pancreas of a young cow (here’s a diagram). And a third is because they’re labour intensive – you have to cook them for a long time and then peel away the sinewy exterior, which is not devastatingly hard, but takes a bit of time.
I ended up cross-referencing about five recipes and putting the best of them all together. This is the recipe, which is mostly a variation on this original version starting at Step 21. You can see more photos of the steps here. You end up with a bunch of leftover sauce suprême. Not a problem. Make some eggs. And toast a gluten free English muffin, if you like.
How was it?
Incredible. Soft, flaky pastry. Rich, creamy filling. Savoury, tender meat. Sweetbreads are creamy all by themselves when simmered for an age, as here. While this is often eaten as an appetizer, half of one was enough for me. I think this will depend on the size of your vol-au-vents. Either way, it’s a total indulgence.
Bouchées à la Reine – Alsatian Vol-au-Vent Pastry with Chicken, Veal and Mushroom Sauce Suprême (gluten free and dairy free)
Makes 12
12 vol-au-vent pastries (gluten free, dairy free if you can find them, or can order them from Le Marquis if you’re in Montreal
Filling:
500g veal sweetbread, uncooked
500g (about 2) cooked chicken breasts, cut into very small pieces (about 1cm cubes)
8 cups homemade chicken stock (it makes a world of difference, but you can use an organic, store-bought version if you can’t get some at the local butcher or make your own)
250g button mushrooms (1 package)
1 tsp olive oil, Earth Balance margarine or vegan butter
Pinch of salt
Sauce Suprême:
6 tbsp + 2 tbsp Earth Balance margarine or vegan butter
6 tbsp tapioca starch or cornstarch
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 egg yolks (or 2 tbsp tapioca starch or cornstarch)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Riesling, optional, but encouraged, with or without moderation (or 2 tbsp Madeira if you don’t have Riesling)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp Espelette pepper, optional
Place the sweetbreads in a medium saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and let them boil for 4 minutes. Strain the sweetbreads and rinse in cold water. Wipe out the saucepan (or wastefully use another) and add the sweetbreads along with the 8 cups of chicken stock for the filling. Keep the sweetbreads submerged with a plate or bowl or a saucepan lid that’s smaller than the pan you’re using and bring the saucepan to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the sweetbreads with a slotted spoon. Pour the stock through a fine mesh sieve and reserve it for later.
Clean the mushrooms and cut them into bitesize pieces (about 4-8 pieces per mushroom, depending on the size). Heat a large skillet or saucepan with the olive oil and sprinkle the msuhrooms with a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to evaporate the water. You’re sweating the mushrooms, not searing them. When done, remove the skillet from the heat.
For the sauce, melt the 6 tbsp Earth Balance or vegan butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the 6 tbsp tapioca starch or cornstarch to make a white roux, whisking constantly so the flour doesn’t brown. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Peel the sweetbreads by removing the stringy and bits and veins. Place the small chunks of sweetbreads in a large bowl and taste and add salt if necessary. If your chicken stock didn’t contain salt, you might need up to a 1/4 tsp or so. Add the cooked chicken breast (add a tiny bit of salt to the chicken breast if necessary too) and the mushrooms to the large bowl.
If your vol-au-vent pastries are frozen, follow your package directions to reheat them in the oven. Otherwise, heat your fresh pastries gently in a 200˚F oven to warm them.
Cut down through the top of the pastry to make a hole. Or slice off the top mound of the pastry. My pastries didn’t work well when I tried the first way. There wasn’t much to cut out, so if I wanted to actually stuff the pastry, I had to take off the entire top half. Return the pastries to oven to keep warm.
Measure 6 cups of the chicken stock you used to simmer the sweetbreads (add water or stock to reach 6 cups if necessary) and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil. When boiling, pour the stock over the roux and whisk until no lumps remain. Cook for about 2-4 minutes over medium heat, until thick, whisking gently but constantly. Remove from the heat and keep covered.
In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and egg yolks. Whisk in a tbsp or so of the thickened stock to temper the yolks, then whisk the yolks and coconut cream mixture back into the saucepan. The sauce shouldn’t be boiling, so the yolks shouldn’t scramble. Whisk in the remaining 2 tbsp Earth Balance in very small pieces, along with the lemon juice and Riesling (you can also add the Riesling to the 6 cups of chicken stock before adding it to the roux above, if you want to cook off the alcohol. Taste and add more lemon if necessary.
Season with the salt, pepper and Espelette pepper and taste to adjust the seasoning. Add the sweetbreads, chicken and mushrooms and stir to combine.
Scoop the filling into the pastries and top with the cylinder of pastry or the entire top half, according to how you cut them.
Serve immediately, with Riesling.
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