Kulebiaka Russia Recipes

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.

SALMON COULIBIAC

Steps:

• For the court bouillon: Add the mushrooms, wine, bay leaves, thyme, onions and 1 quart water to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering about 1 hour. Strain.
• For the salmon: Place a flameproof roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the court bouillon and bring to a simmer. Add the salmon, skin-side up. Turn heat to low and bring to a slow simmer. Cook for 5 minutes per inch, measuring the thickest part of the salmon, about 10 to 15 minutes total. The salmon should be cooked to rare (a thin knife can be inserted into the center with slight resistance); keep in mind the salmon will cook a second time later in the recipe. Remove from the poaching liquid and let cool slightly. Break the salmon up into chunks and place in a bowl. Discard the skin and set aside.
• For the mushroom duxelles: Add the shallots to a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the mushrooms and continue pulsing until a rough puree forms.
• Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium heat and cook until foaming. Add the shallot and mushroom puree and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the cream and continue cooking until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For the spinach: Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium heat until foaming, then add the onions. Saute until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach and toss and saute until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For the crepes: Whisk together the eggs, butter and heavy cream in a large bowl. Whisk in both flours until incorporated and a pourable batter forms. Let the batter rest at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Heat a 9-inch nonstick crepe pan over medium heat, then add a thin layer of batter (about 1/2 cup). Spread around the pan to completely cover the bottom. Cook until the top is dry and the edges begin to curl up, around 1 minute. Flip and cook another minute, then remove the crepe to a sheet pan and repeat to make additional crepes, using all the batter.
• To assemble: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a large roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay a thawed sheet of puff pastry on the bottom. Cover the puff pastry with 3 crepes, overlapping a bit. Add half of the cooked spinach followed by half of the salmon, leaving a slight border of puff pastry and crepes around the edges. Make a furrow in the middle of the salmon running the length of the pan, then add the duxelles. Top with the remaining salmon and spinach, in even layers. Cover everything with more crepes, overlapping a bit. Top with the remaining puff pastry sheet. Crimp the edges together to seal. Whisk the egg together with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush over the top. Brush the melted butter over the egg wash. Using a sharp knife, score the top in a cross-hatch pattern to release steam as it bakes. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• For the beurre blanc: Cook the white wine, champagne vinegar and shallots in a heavy nonreactive saucepan over medium heat to a glaze, about 10 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until each piece is absorbed before adding the next piece. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer and keep warm.
• For the rice pilaf: Add the butter, onion, a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the wild rice and cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups cold water and bring to boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan.
• For the creme fraiche: Mix the creme fraiche and caviar together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Slice the coulibiac into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Drizzle with the beurre blanc. Serve with the creme fraiche and rice in bowls on the side.

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).

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.