Koulibiak in pie dish

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 people, you will need:

• 1 200 g fresh salmon
• 2 1 Bouquet garni
• 3 3 eggs
• 4 100 g rice
• 5 150 g button or field mushrooms
• 6 400 g fresh spinach
• 7 200 g Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
• 8 1 chicken stock cube
• 9 a little olive oil (optional)
• 10 2 knobs butter
• 11 ½ lemon
• 12 1 shallot
• 13 20 g beaten egg
• 14 salt
• 15 pepper
• Total weight: 1,375 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
2 hours 16 min.	3 min.	1 hour	3 hours 19 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Put salmon pieces in hot salted water with bouquet garni. If your salmon pieces are not filleted, don't worry about skins and bones, it will be very easy to remove them when cooked.
2	Cook over a low heat until salmon flesh become opaque (4 - 5 minutes). Drain and leave to cool a little.
3	Clean salmon pieces keeping only the flesh. To remove the brown fat on back, use a knife. Discard skin, fat and bones.
4	Set aside on absorbing paper.
5	Save time by cooking the eggs (hard boiled) in salmon cooking water.
6	After 10 minutes boiling, remove eggs and put into cold water. Remove eggshell, and put back into cold water. When eggs are completely cold, cut in slices. It's a matter of taste, but you can discard the first slice, of white only.
7	Cook rice in salted water with a chicken stock cube. When cooked, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and mix well to prevent grains sticking together. You can also prepare pilau rice.
8	Break off mushroom stalks, peel the caps.
9	And cut in small pieces.
10	Put a knob of butter in a pan, add chopped shallot, salt and pepper. Cook one minute and add mushrooms, mix well.
11	Cook 3 - 4 minutes, add ½ lemon juice, salt and pepper, then check seasoning. Leave to cool and drain in a strainer.
12	Prepare 400 g fresh spinach.
13	Roll out the puff pastry, glaze on one side. Put back in the fridge for one hour.
14	After this time remove from the fridge, and put in your mould, the egg-coated side in the bottom. It's a delicate operation because the egg is very sticky. Press well in to be sure that puff pastry is in contact with the bottom and sides of the dish.
15	Start the koulibiac: put a layer of salmon in the dish.
16	Cover with a layer of rice.
17	A layer of mushrooms.
18	A layer of sliced eggs.
19	A layer of spinach.
20	Another layer of salmon.
21	And finally a second layer of rice.
22	Fold over the puff pastry to seal the koulibiac. Remember to leave a small hole to let out steam during cooking. Refrigerate until the oven is ready.
23	Preaheat your oven to 230°C or 446°F, and put koulibiak in for 20 - 30 minutes. Watch for coloration, take it out as soon as it is golden brown.
24	Wait a few minutes before turning out from dish.
25	Cut thick slices with a bread knife (easier). You can serve this koulibiac in hot plates with a slightly sharp sauce like a béarnaise or with a beurre blanc.

Remarks

When you make the koulibiak layers, don't hesitate to press each down to fill the dish well.
This recipe is not really difficult, but it's a bit long due as there are many ingredients to prepare. But most of them can be prepared in advance, the day before or so.
Salmon is not the main fish, the original recipe is made with pike, so you can easily substitute another of your choice.

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