Vol-au-vent with chicken in supreme sauce

Roll the puff pastry to 1/4 inch, 1 cm thick; thicker is fine, not thinner.

Cut four 10 cm rounds and set on a baking tray lined with a lightly moistened silicone mat or parchment so they do not slip; save the trimmings.

Cut a 2.5 inch, 6 cm round almost all the way through each; brush with egg wash, chill 30 minutes, brush again, score, and refrigerate at least an hour before baking, or freeze hard and store sealed about a month.

Preheat the oven to 325F, 160C; set two pastry rings about four centimeters high beside the shells and lay an upside-down wire grate on top so they bake perfectly even.

Stud the onion with cloves through the bay leaf; tie leek, carrot, celery and thyme into a bouquet.

Put the chicken thighs, bouquet, onion, garlic, water and wine in a large pot, no salt yet; bring to a boil and cook covered on low heat 40 minutes.

Pull the mushroom stems into the stock; cut the caps into four or six pieces.

For the mirepoix, cut carrots into rectangles, strips, batonnets and cubes; peel the celery stalks and cube them; mince shallots and lemon confit.

Remove the chicken and cool slightly; keep the stock on low, uncovered. Shred the meat off the bones and return the bones to the stock.

Reduce the stock to two cups and pass it through a sieve; reduce further if needed.

Blanch the English peas for a minute and set aside.

In a hot Dutch oven melt butter and saute the shallots, carrots and celery 5 minutes; add the mushrooms for 3 minutes; add the flour and cook a minute.

Pour in the chicken stock and heavy cream; cook 10 minutes on low heat, covered.

Add the shredded chicken and peas; season with lemon confit, salt and ground black pepper.

Cut out the center of each baked shell, keeping the top or not, and fill.