Coulibiac is probably one of the best fish pies ever! I was introduced to the wonderful world of Eastern European food in the mid 90s when some of my closest friends were from that region.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Russian Cuisine
My first truly Russian feast was at a celebration dinner hosted by a friend’s parents for 2 of my friends and me for doing the London Marathon! That started me on a journey of discovering the foods of that region, a journey I’m still on.
Russian cuisine is greatly influenced by its climate and sheer size. Even after the break up of the Soviet Union, Russia still covers over 17 million square kilometres, stretching from the Baltic Sea in the West to the Bering Sea and Sea of Japan, in the East.
A large part of Northern Russia is a land of Permafrost and not viable for any form of crops or animal rearing. South of that and to the West however, where it starts to get milder, you’ll find game and freshwater fish.
As you go further south, you find all forms of crops and animals for local consumption. The variety of grain crops, wheat being the most common now, gives rise to a huge potential for the production of various breads (a staple), cereal and of course, vodka.
Caviar anyone? Well, Russia’s coastline is the 4th largest in the world, with access to 12 seas in 3 oceans. I find that totally amazing, and if you’re talking about its freshwater fish, it has over 2 million rivers! Blows your mind, doesn’t it?
Coulibiac History
The Coulibiac owes its origins to Kulebyaka. And this original was a closed pie with layers of pancake separating the filling which could contain meat, fish, potatoes, eggs, cabbage, etc, depending on the cook, the region and the season.
The modern Coulibiac is usually a salmon pie as mentioned above. Some of my Russian friends insist that it refers to only salmon filled, while others say it encompasses any meat used with the other ingredients. I have only on one occasion had it where chicken was used instead of fish.
Coulibiac Recipe
These days, more often than not, the pie is made from fresh salmon. I personally prefer to use some cured or smoked salmon for it – gravadlax is perfect, I find the rich taste of cured salmon complements the eggs, rice and cream perfectly.
I have always felt that a flavoured rice would do so much better in coulibiac, instead of the standard plain version. To that end, we make a quick risotto type rice to go with our coulibiac.
Smetana
Smetana is just soured cream that is widely used in Central and Eastern Europe. So you can just use crème frâiche or even soured cream, if you like, although the latter is just a little stronger than real smetana.
How to Make Coulibiac
Quite often, all the ingredients are mixed up and put in the pie altogether but I prefer layering them, as not only is this more aesthetically pleasing but it also allows you to savour each ingredient as a part of the whole! I finish it off by sprinkling some breadcrumbs over the pastry, a new trick a friend of mine taught me recently, but you can leave it plain or decorated with pastry shapes.
So, here’s my recipe for Coulibiak. Made easier with shop bought puff pastry and a perfect Christmas main course for pescatarians!
Shall we get our aprons on?
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Lin xx
Coulibiac
Ingredients
- 300 g salmon about 2 fillets
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 pinches salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil optional, if frying the salmon fillets
- 3 boiled eggs
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 3 Tbsp soured cream
- a little plain flour for dusting
- 1 x 320 g pack all butter puff pastry
- 1 portion of risotto bianco recipe below
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley finely chopped
- 200 g smoked salmon
- 1 egg yolk lightly beaten, for glazing
For the Risotto
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ½ Tbsp EV olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 120 g risotto rice
- 500-750 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- freshly ground black pepper
- handful fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
Let’s Make the Risotto
- Heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat in a frying pan and sauté the onions until translucent, about a couple of minutes.1 Tbsp butter, ½ Tbsp EV olive oil, 1 medium onion
- Add the garlic, sauté for 30 seconds.1 small clove garlic
- Add the rice, stir to coat and keep stirring for a minute until slightly translucent.120 g risotto rice
- Add the stock, 2 ladles at a time and cook until each addition is dried up before adding the next 2 ladles. You don’t have to stir continuously, 2-3 times with each addition should do. Cook the salmon while you’re doing the risotto and save time.500-750 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- Keep adding the stock until the rice looks cooked, after about 20 – 25 minutes. You may not need all of it, it does depend on the rice. Take a bite and the rice should taste and feel cooked with just a bite to it, like al dente pasta. If not quite cooked, add more stock.
- Season with some freshly ground black pepper and stir in the parsley.handful fresh parsley, freshly ground black pepper
- Turn out onto a plate to cool down while you continue with the pie.
Salmon
- While cooking the risotto, let’s also attend to the salmon fillets. Season the salmon with the lemon juice, 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper.300 g salmon, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 pinches salt, freshly ground black pepper
- Either cook it under a medium hot grill for about 5 minutes each side or cook it in a frying pan, with 1 tsp olive oil, on the stovetop, for about 3 minutes each side. It’s fine for the salmon to be slightly pink on the inside.1 tsp olive oil
- Transfer to a plate and using 2 forks, break the salmon up into shreds.
Boiled Eggs
- Mash the boiled eggs with a fork in a roomy bowl.3 boiled eggs
- Add the dill, soured cream, a pinch of salt and some pepper and mix thoroughly.2 Tbsp fresh dill, 3 Tbsp soured cream
- Set aside.
- Unpack the smoked salmon and set aside.
Now let’s make us a Fish Pie!
- Roll out your pastry on a lightly floured surface. We are aiming for a square that measures about 36 x 36cm (14 in). Use a ruler. If you’ve gone for ready rolled pastry, using a rolling pin to roll out to the desired size. A rough estimate is fine, a little short here and there is not a problem.1 x 320 g pack all butter puff pastry, a little plain flour
- Now, cut the pastry into 2, with one being larger than the other (for the top of the pastry. Make one about 20cm (7.7in), and the other 16cm (6.3in).
- Let the pastry rest for 5 minutes. Place the larger pastry on a lightly floured baking sheet and place in the fridge.
- Grease a second baking sheet.
Assembling the Coulibiac
- This is the fun bit, we are going for layers that will go like this: risotto, salmon, smoked salmon, eggs, smoked salmon, salmon, risotto.
- Place the smaller pastry on your greased baking sheet.
- Spread half the risotto on the pastry, leaving a clear 2.5cm (1 in) border all around.1 portion of risotto bianco
- Follow by half the shredded salmon.
- Lay down half the smoked salmon, it’s perfectly fine to overlap as you will have more than enough for a single layer.
- Follow the smoked salmon with all of the boiled eggs.
- Then reverse the layers: smoked salmon, salmon pieces and finally the risotto.
- Brush the empty edges of the pastry with the beaten egg yolk. If the egg yolk is too thick, just lighten it with a teaspoon of milk or water.
- Now gently cover everything with the larger sheet of pastry that’s been resting in the fridge. Press the pastry down with your fingers, packing the filling in, leaving no space between the filling and the side of the top pastry.
- Press down all around with your fingers to seal.
- Then, take a fork and stand it upright against the edge of the pastry and push back into the pie, creating a scallop pattern and sealing the pastry further.
- Get a pair of kitchen scissors and just cut about 4-5 vents in the top of the pastry. Angle the scissors at 45˚ and snip.
- Brush the pie all over with the egg yolk.
- Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F).
- Place the assembled pie in the fridge for 30 minutes for the pastry to firm up. This will give you beautifully flaky pastry.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes until it’s a beautiful golden brown.
- Let it rest for 5 minutes then serve as suggested above.
Well, after a long absence of trying your recipes Lin, I did this one at the weekend. Again, very easy to make, and of course delicious!
Welcome back, it’s a good one, isn’t it?
I’ve heard of Coulibiak but I have never tried it! I think you did an excellent job with this one! Looks very tasty!
I have never tried Russian food and this coulibiak is new to me. Caviar is one, how hard I try I can digest.
We eat plenty of fish and salmon is one of fav too. Its quite pricey over here, so we have it once a while. Anyway, I was in Denmark and Norway two weeks and salmon was everywhere, from buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. For the time being, I need a break from salmon.
Its interesting to find out about the recipe and looks good. I will consider making the same, maybe in 3 to 4 months time.
interesting I haven’t had like this
Sounds so exotic! Would love to try this. Wish I could come over, Lin.
Wow…now that is something I’ve never seen before. Sounds amazing.
I’m over from the Coffee Party. 🙂
ooooh! WOW! I had never seen anything like that before! WOW! YUM! …. thanks for sharing… and btw… I smell some coffee on your post 😉 LOL!
Paloma.
That looks absolutely mouthwatering!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Me, please! This looks incredibly delicious…can’t wait to try it soon!
I love Eastern European food. In fact, I have made a similar version of this pie for my Cook Around the Globe project. The layering and the use of smoked rather than fresh salmon surely kicks the taste up a notch.