Vol au vents with asparagus and smoked cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
2. While pastry is still mostly frozen, but ever so slightly thawed, cut 16 rounds with the larger size cutter. Then cut 8 of those round discs with the small cutter to create a ring. Place a ring on top of each of the remaining 8 larger round discs. Pierce with a fork in the middle a few times to stop the pastry rising too much. Brush with egg wash and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, press down the centre gently to make room for filling.
3. Place butter, eschallot, thyme, leek and garlic into a medium saucepan and sweat with a pinch of salt on a medium heat. Add in the flour and cook off for 5 minutes while stirring. 
4. Next slowly add in the milk while whisking. Cook on medium low, while constantly stirring, for 10 minutes until flour is cooked out. Turn off the heat. 
5. Mix in smoked cheese, asparagus slices and chardonnay vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
6. Blanch asparagus spear tops and slice in half. 
7. Once mixture is cooled slightly, pour into vol au vent cases. Garnish with blanched asparagus spears, dill, chives, and freshly cracked pepper. Serve warm with a simple leafy salad.