richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Ok, the last one was a quick and easy version. This is the deluxe, over the top, weekend in the kitchen version...
Puff Pastry--I'll skip this part since it's a pretty standard recipe or use frozen, but start a couple days in advance if you make it from scatch. Optionally, use a rich cream cheese pastry.
Blinchiki (crepes)
1 egg, separated
1 1/4 cups whole milk
4 tbls melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp each of sugar and salt
additional butter for frying.
Beat egg yolk with the milk, add melted butter. Stir in flour, sugar, and salt. Beat egg white until stiff and fold into batter.
Heat crepe pan and brush with butter. Fry one at a time until batter is used up, using about 1 tbls. batter for each crepe. To do in advance, brush with butter, cool, stack, wrap in foil.
Filling
4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 tbls. lemon juice
2 and 4 tbls. butter
salt
white pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb. salmon fillets, raw
6 tbls. raw rice
1/4 cup fresh dill
1 onion, diced
1 oz. vesiga (dried sturgeoun backbone), or sub. Chinese bean thread noodles
additional melted butter
Slice the eggs and set aside.
Toss mushrooms and lemon juice. Melt the 2 tbls. butter in a large pot and add the mushrooms, salt, and white pepper. Toss. Add the wine, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Stir. Arrange salmon on mushrooms. Cover and steam salmon until done, about 10 minutes.
Remove salmon and mushrooms from pot and set aside. Measure liquid in the pot and add enough additional wine to make 3/4 cup. Stir in the rice, cover and steam until done. Stir in the dill and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the 4 tbls. butter until golden brown.
If you've found the vesiga, soak it for several hours in cold water, drain. Put in a pot with clean water, bring to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 2.5 hours. Cool, drain, mince. Otherwise, soak the bean threads in salted water until soft and transparent, for 20-30 min. Drain, mince, stir into onion.
Assembly
Working quickly, roll puff pastry into a 12 X 18 rectangle. Place on a light cutting board or baking sheet that you will be able to pick up and invert after assembly. Cut stack of blinchiki in half with a large knife. Arrange half the blinchiki down the center of the pastry, flat cut edges facing out to the edge of the pastry, rounded parts facing inward and overlapping as nessary. You want to create a 5-inch wide rectangular area of blinchiki on top of the larger rectangular of the pastry, centered in the middle.
Spread half the rice.
Spread half the onions.
Arrange half of the sliced eggs.
Spread half the mushrooms.
Arrange all of the salmon on the stack, pressing gently to compress and help it to adhere without toppling over.
Arrange in reverse order on the salmon, starting with the mushrooms, the remaining ingredients, ending up with blinchiki arranged as before. Press together gently again.
Bring the short ends of the pastry up over the stack, then the long sides, brushing edges with cold water, and securly sealing them together. Brush a baking sheet with water, place on top of the coulibiac, and invert the assembled coulibiac onto the new baking sheet.
Make three incisions or decorative cuts or small holes in the pastry to vent. Decorate the coulibiac quite elaborately with strips of remaining pastry cut with a notched pastry wheel cutter, and cutouts of flowers, fish, whatever. Arrange and paste until the coulibiac with beaten egg. Brush the entire thing with beaten egg when it is finished.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes more, until puffed and golden brown.
Pour additional melted butter into the vents when the coulibiac comes from the oven. Slice and serve with more melted butter and/or dill sauce.
Variation: Use sliced smoked fish instead of fresh poached salmon. If you don't want to assemble free form, use a terrine, bread pan, or some other form that will be large enough to hold the ingredients, line with pastry, fill, seal pastry, then invert onto baking sheet. Different effect, but is easier to assemble.
Serve with small glasses from the freezer filled with frozen garlic-dill vodka ( in 1 pint vodka, add 1 slightly crushed clove of garlic, a large sprig of fresh dill, and 6 white peppercorns. Sit at room temp for one day. Strain. Freeze (vodka stays liquid and pourable in the home freezer). A dry white wine makes a good accompaniement as well.
Puff Pastry--I'll skip this part since it's a pretty standard recipe or use frozen, but start a couple days in advance if you make it from scatch. Optionally, use a rich cream cheese pastry.
Blinchiki (crepes)
1 egg, separated
1 1/4 cups whole milk
4 tbls melted butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp each of sugar and salt
additional butter for frying.
Beat egg yolk with the milk, add melted butter. Stir in flour, sugar, and salt. Beat egg white until stiff and fold into batter.
Heat crepe pan and brush with butter. Fry one at a time until batter is used up, using about 1 tbls. batter for each crepe. To do in advance, brush with butter, cool, stack, wrap in foil.
Filling
4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 tbls. lemon juice
2 and 4 tbls. butter
salt
white pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb. salmon fillets, raw
6 tbls. raw rice
1/4 cup fresh dill
1 onion, diced
1 oz. vesiga (dried sturgeoun backbone), or sub. Chinese bean thread noodles
additional melted butter
Slice the eggs and set aside.
Toss mushrooms and lemon juice. Melt the 2 tbls. butter in a large pot and add the mushrooms, salt, and white pepper. Toss. Add the wine, cover and steam for 5 minutes. Stir. Arrange salmon on mushrooms. Cover and steam salmon until done, about 10 minutes.
Remove salmon and mushrooms from pot and set aside. Measure liquid in the pot and add enough additional wine to make 3/4 cup. Stir in the rice, cover and steam until done. Stir in the dill and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the 4 tbls. butter until golden brown.
If you've found the vesiga, soak it for several hours in cold water, drain. Put in a pot with clean water, bring to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 2.5 hours. Cool, drain, mince. Otherwise, soak the bean threads in salted water until soft and transparent, for 20-30 min. Drain, mince, stir into onion.
Assembly
Working quickly, roll puff pastry into a 12 X 18 rectangle. Place on a light cutting board or baking sheet that you will be able to pick up and invert after assembly. Cut stack of blinchiki in half with a large knife. Arrange half the blinchiki down the center of the pastry, flat cut edges facing out to the edge of the pastry, rounded parts facing inward and overlapping as nessary. You want to create a 5-inch wide rectangular area of blinchiki on top of the larger rectangular of the pastry, centered in the middle.
Spread half the rice.
Spread half the onions.
Arrange half of the sliced eggs.
Spread half the mushrooms.
Arrange all of the salmon on the stack, pressing gently to compress and help it to adhere without toppling over.
Arrange in reverse order on the salmon, starting with the mushrooms, the remaining ingredients, ending up with blinchiki arranged as before. Press together gently again.
Bring the short ends of the pastry up over the stack, then the long sides, brushing edges with cold water, and securly sealing them together. Brush a baking sheet with water, place on top of the coulibiac, and invert the assembled coulibiac onto the new baking sheet.
Make three incisions or decorative cuts or small holes in the pastry to vent. Decorate the coulibiac quite elaborately with strips of remaining pastry cut with a notched pastry wheel cutter, and cutouts of flowers, fish, whatever. Arrange and paste until the coulibiac with beaten egg. Brush the entire thing with beaten egg when it is finished.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes more, until puffed and golden brown.
Pour additional melted butter into the vents when the coulibiac comes from the oven. Slice and serve with more melted butter and/or dill sauce.
Variation: Use sliced smoked fish instead of fresh poached salmon. If you don't want to assemble free form, use a terrine, bread pan, or some other form that will be large enough to hold the ingredients, line with pastry, fill, seal pastry, then invert onto baking sheet. Different effect, but is easier to assemble.
Serve with small glasses from the freezer filled with frozen garlic-dill vodka ( in 1 pint vodka, add 1 slightly crushed clove of garlic, a large sprig of fresh dill, and 6 white peppercorns. Sit at room temp for one day. Strain. Freeze (vodka stays liquid and pourable in the home freezer). A dry white wine makes a good accompaniement as well.