Belgian-style chicken or veal pie in a puff-pastry shell: a creamy sauce with mushrooms, chicken meatballs and herbs, served with frites.

Vol-au-vent translates as 'flying with the wind' for the lightness of its puff-pastry shell, an Antonin Careme invention from early 19th-century Paris. The Belgian adaptation filled the shell with a thick cream sauce of chicken or veal and mushrooms, with small meatballs alongside. The dish became a Sunday-lunch brasserie staple across Brussels and Flanders, served with a bowl of frites to soak up the sauce.

3 editor picks for Vol-au-vent in Brussels, ranked by editorial score. All Brussels signature dishes · Vol-au-vent across every city.

Also in: Antwerp.

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