Salmon Coulibiacs Recipes

Steps:

• First, get everything prepared. Boil a pan of salted water, add the eggs and cook for 8 mins exactly. Drain and cool under cold water, then peel and set aside.
• Heat half the butter in a non-stick frying pan and sizzle the slices of salmon for 1 min on each side (Pic 1), just to firm up the fillets but not cook them all the way through. Lift the salmon onto a plate.
• Now cook the rice. Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan. Add the onion, cumin and coriander seeds, cardamom and star anise, then gently fry for 8 mins until golden. Stir in the rice and add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick (Pic 2), then pour over the stock and season generously. Cover and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to its lowest setting and continue to cook for 10 mins. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 mins, then stir through the lemon zest and juice. Set aside to cool. This can be done several hrs in advance. Once cool, stir though the chopped dill.
• To assemble the pie, roll out one of the pieces of pastry to a rectangle as wide but a third longer than this magazine (23 x 40cm), then lay on a baking tray. Pack half the rice along the middle of the pastry, discarding the star anise and cinnamon as you do so, leaving a good 5cm border around the edge. Lay the salmon over the rice, then slice the eggs and lay those over the whole salmon layer (Pic 3). Top the eggs with the remaining rice and use your hands to gently pack everything down to a firm, even shape. Brush any stray grains of rice off the border, then brush the border with beaten egg,
• Roll the second piece of pastry out to a rectangle slightly larger than the first. Drape over the coulibiac and gently press the edges to seal the 2 pastry sheets together. Trim the edges to neaten and crimp with your fingers or press down with a fork. The uncooked pie can now be chilled, on the baking sheet, for a day or frozen for up to 2 months.
• To cook, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Brush the pie all over with beaten egg and, if you want, lightly score the pastry with the back of a knife in a criss-cross fashion, making sure you don't cut all the way through (Pic 4). Bake for 20 mins, then reduce the heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and continue to cook for 20 mins until golden brown. Leave to rest for 10 mins, then serve in thick slices with a bowl of Dill cream or Herb salsa (see recipes, below).

Steps:

• Bring wine, 2 cups water, bay leaf, celery, and peppercorns to a simmer in a small, wide saucepan over medium-high. Add salmon, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until slightly opaque but still pink on inside, about 3 minutes. Remove salmon; let cool slightly. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve; reserve. Flake salmon into large pieces.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high. Add leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Melt 4 more tablespoons butter in pan; add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Add to leeks.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly, until mixture is foamy and light brown, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 cup reserved poaching liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce to a rapid simmer, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool. Stir into leek-mushroom mixture. Add rice, dill, and salmon. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• On a floured surface, roll each piece of puff pastry (dusting with flour as necessary) into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle, 1/8 inch thick. Cut out twelve 4-by-6-inch rectangles; transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Use small cookie cutters to cut shapes from excess dough, if desired.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Divide filling evenly among pastry rectangles (about 1/4 cup each), mounding in center of one short side. With a pastry brush, dampen borders with cold water. Fold tops of pastry over filling. Press edges; crimp to seal tightly with the tines of a fork. Place cutouts on top, if desired; adhere with cold water. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, 20 minutes.
• Beat together yolk and cream; brush each coulibiac with mixture. Bake, rotating halfway through, until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve warm, with lemon wedges and sauce.

Steps:

• Roll out 2 pastry sheets to 1/2-inch thickness and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest prior to assembly. (This will make it easier to handle). At this time preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When ready to assemble, lay 1 of the pastry sheets on a flat floured surface. Brush with egg wash and evenly spread the spinach on top. Then cover the spinach with the sauteed mushrooms.
• Lay the whole side of salmon on top of the spinach and mushrooms, making sure you have at least 1/2-inch of pastry left all around the salmon.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
• Season the salmon with salt and pepper and top with the chopped eggs and sliced raw onion.
• Sprinkle with chopped dill and thyme and brush the egg wash liberally around the edges of the bottom pastry.
• Place the other pastry sheet on top of the salmon and press the 2 sheets together so they seal tightly (the whole thing should look like a parcel). Egg wash the top and sprinkle with little salt. Transfer the salmon to a sheet pan and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes check internal temperature by placing an instant-read thermometer into the center of the salmon. When it reads 125 degrees F remove from the oven and allow to rest for a further 10 minutes. It will continue to cook for a further 20 minutes or so.
• Transfer salmon to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, slice into 2-inch pieces. Place on a serving platter and enjoy.

Steps:

• Boil the eggs for 7 mins, then plunge into cold water. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the mushrooms and a pinch of seasoning and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 mins until golden. Add the rice, dill, lemon zest and juice, capers and some more seasoning, then remove from the heat.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put two sheets of pastry next to each other on the tray, slightly overlapping in the middle. Brush with some oil and top with another two sheets, then repeat with two more sheets. Butterfly the salmon by cutting through the side, but not all the way through, so you can open it like a book. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Place the salmon on the pastry and stuff with the rice mixture. Peel and slice the boiled eggs and arrange on the rice. Close up the salmon fillet, season and wrap with the pastry to form a parcel. Scrunch the remaining pastry sheet over the top, drizzle with a little more oil and bake for 40 mins. Serve with lemon wedges and dressed salad leaves.