Kulebiaka Russia Food

SALMON COULIBIAC

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).

STURGEON KULEBIAKA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Season fish portions with salt and pepper. Place 1/2 of an egg sliced in the middle of a 6 by 4-inch piece of puff pastry, then cabbage, cooked. Top with basmati rice mixed with mushroom duxelle, fines herbs and last the fish. Make sure that each layer is very even.
• Moisten the edges of the pastry with a bit of egg wash. Pull the sides up on top of the fish, pinch together, then repeat with the ends. Repeat for each individual portion. Decorate the top with fish shaped pastry cut-outs, wash with egg wash. Bake for 16 minutes.
• Heat asparagus in butter with a mashed garlic clove. Season lightly with salt and pepper and add chervil. Place the asparagus in the middle of the plate without the butter. Cut the fish portion in 1/2 and place on top of the asparagus so that the cut sides show. Remove the garlic clove from the reserved butter and add in the caviar. Mix the caviar gently and spoon evenly to sauce each plate.
• Melt butter in saucepan. Add minced onions and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and porcini and cook until liquid has evaporated. Add vermouth and slowly cook until evaporated. Add sour cream, bechamel, chives, and spices.
• Bring water to a boil with shallot and salt and simmer until shallot is tender. Whisk in butter and lemon juice.

KULEBIAKA- RUSSIA

Steps:

• 1. Kulebiaba meaning retangular pie. This is considered the King of Pies. DOUGH: Chill a large bowl.
• 2. Combine the butter, shortening, salt and flour.
• 3. With a pastry cutter, cut the hutter and shortening in till it resembles coarse meal.
• 4. Add 10 Tbls. of ice water or milk all at once. Mix. If it's still crumbly add a litte more ice water or milk till it forms a ball.
• 5. Divide dough in half, dust each piece with a LITTLE flour. Wrap separately in plastic or waxpaper. Refrigerate 3 hours until firm.
• 6. FOR THE SALMON FILLING:
• 7. Combine 3 quarts water, the wine, the onion, celery, carrots, peppercorns, 3 tablespoons salt, in stainless steel pot. Bring to boil over high heat, then lower the salmon in and reduce heat to low. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until fish is firm to touch. With a slotted spatual, transfer to large bowl. Gently remove any skin or bones that may have been left of the fillets. Separate the fish into small flakes with a fork. Set the bowl aside.
• 8. In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbl. butter on high heat. Add the mushrooms, turn down heat and cook until soft. Place them in a bowl and toss with lemon juice, a bit of ground pepper and 1/4 tsp. salt.
• 9. In the same skillet melt 1 tsp. butter on high heat. Add the onion, holding aside 1 Tbl. of onion. Cook onion on lower heat until they are done, but not brown. Stir in 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Scrap into bowl with mushroom.
• 10. Melt 2 Tbl. butter in skillet on high heat and add remaining tablespoon of onion and turn down the heat. Cook until soft.
• 11. Add the rice to the skillet that has the tablespoon of onions. Cook the rice for 2 to 3 minutes. Stirring to coat each grain of rice with the butter.
• 12. Pour in the Chicken stock and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and cover. Cook rice until rice is tender and fluffy.
• 13. Turn off the heat and stir in the dill.
• 14. Add the cooked rice with the dill, onion, mushrooms and chopped eggs into the bowl with salmon. Toss lightly, but throughly evenly distribute everything. Taste to see if you want more seasoning. Set aside to cool.
• 15. FOR THE CABBAGE FILLING:
• 16. Cook the cabbage in a pot of boiling water with salt. About 5 mintues. Drain the cabbage in a collander. Set aside.
• 17. Melt butter on high heat and add the chopped onions. Reduce heat and cook until soft and lightly browned. Add some of the cabbage juice.
• 18. Add the cabbage and cover. Simmer over low heat until until the cabbage is tender. 30 to 40 mintues. Turn up the heat and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• 19. Drain the cabbage. Combine the eggs, dill, salt, sugar, and pepper. Taste if it needs more salt or pepper or dill add it. Set aside to cool.
• 20. Butter a large cookie sheet into a long retangle
• 21. Place the filling of your choice lenghtwise on the dough about the a little less then the size of the sheet, leaving 1" of pasty on all sides. Brush the edges with egg yolk and cream mixture.
• 22. Roll second dough to the a little larger. Roll on to the rolling pin and roll over the filling as a top. Make a small round hole opening which will be the center of your flower. Press the edges together and crimp. Cut away any extra dough. Coat the whole dough surface with the eggs and cream wash.
• 23. Roll out the extra dough and cut like slender leaves. Roll small balls of dough. Roll long stems. Make a flower in the center of the dough with the leaves. Add stems and leaves. Add the little round balls of dough to make them look like berries. Brush with egg and cream wash. Roll with your hands, but not stretching the dough into long twists. Brush edges with egg and cream wash. Add the twists to the edges. Brush all the edges with egg and cream. Refrig. 20 mintues.
• 24. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and pour into hole.
• 25. Bake in preheated oven 400*. Bake in center oven for 1 hour or until golden brown.
• 26. Serve with Dill sauce make out of dry white wine, butter, lemon, and pepper, reduce and the add chopped dill. Cool. Add cream a tad of flour or cornstarch to thicken. Heat and serve.