Coulibiac of salmon with wine and mustard sauce

Today I'd like to share a recipe for a classic Eastern European dish done Western European way - coulibiac of salmon made from puff pastry.

Coulibiac done this way is filled with layers of rice, spinach, mushrooms and salmon. Each of them has its own distinct flavour, but together they form a pleasant, tasty composition, the main star of which is delicate, juicy salmon. Add the phenomenal wine and mustard sauce and you'll get a dish that will delight your guests.

You'll find the list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients (4 coulibiacs, 10 x 25 cm)

• 2/3 cups (~130 g) rice
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 500 g brown mushrooms
• 1 bell pepper (~120 g)
• 100 g shallots
  
• Small bunch of parsley
• Small bunch of dill
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, eg. rapeseed
  
• 1 pack baby spinach (~220 g)
• 2 sheets puff pastry (~750 g)
• 60 g creamy blue cheese
• 4 boneless skinless salmon fillets
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg

Wine and mustard sauce

• 1 tbsp chopped dill
• 60 ml white wine
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (~50 g)
• 180 ml whipping cream
• 2 tbsp butter (~40 g)
• Salt and pepper
  

Method

1. Pour 500 ml vegetable stock into a medium pot. Bring it to a boil, turn heat down to low and add 130 g rinsed brown rice. Cook rice until done, for 20-25 minutes.
2. Slice 500 g brown mushrooms into thick, 3 mm half-moons. Remove seeds and stem from one bell pepper and cut it into 0.5 cm cubes. Cut 100 g shallots into thin, 1 mm half-moons. Finely chop small bunches of dill and parsley.
3. Drain rice and transfer it into a separate bowl. Add cubed pepper and a heaped tbsp of chopped parsley. Mix the contents of the bowl through until evenly distributed and set aside to cool.
4. Heat up 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil in a large pan. Put sliced shallots into hot pan and cook them over medium low heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until they become visibly soft and translucent.
5. Add 220 g baby spinach. If it doesn't fit in the pan, do it in two batches. Cook spinach until it becomes wilted. Take pan off heat, transfer its contents into a separate dish and set aside to cool completely.
6. Clean your pan and heat up a second tbsp of oil. Put sliced mushrooms into the pan. Cook mushrooms over medium heat for a few minutes, until moisture evaporates from the pan and mushrooms become beautiful and golden. Take them off heat then, transfer them into a separate dish and set them aside to cool completely.
7. Gently unroll a sheet of puff pastry (roughly 40 x 25 cm) and divide it into two equal halves. Put 1/4 of rice and pepper mixture on one of them. Spread rice in an equal layer covering one half of the half-sheet. Leave a 1 cm strip of clean pastry around the filling. Create a layer out of 1/4 of spinach on top of rice and spread it. Scatter 15 g of creamy blue cheese on top of spinach. Cover cheese with 1/4 of mushrooms. Place a raw salmon fillet on top of mushrooms and season it generously with salt, ground black pepper and chopped dill.
   
8. Close the coulibiac. Fold the clean part of pastry over filling, join the corners and patiently close the sides to get a tightly closed package. Press the sides with a fork to ensure they won't become unstuck during baking. Repeat with all the coulibiacs. Place them on a large tray lined with baking paper and brush the tops with lightly beaten egg.
9. Put the coulibiacs into a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for 50-60 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Pour 60 ml dry white wine into a small pot and add 1 tbsp chopped dill. Stir the contents of the pot, bring wine to a boil and cook for a few minutes to reduce the liquid by a half.
11. Turn heat down to low and add 2 tbsp Dijon mustard. Mix it in with a whisk and add 180 ml whipping cream next. Stir through the contents of the pot, bring up the heat slightly and cook for a few minutes, keeping an eye on the pot to prevent sauce from spilling over.
12. Once liquid reduces slightly and thickens up, take the pot off heat and add 2 tbsp butter. Stir the sauce until butter melts. Season sauce to taste with ground black pepper and salt.
13. Coulibiacs are ready once their internal temperature reaches 75 deg C - it took 50 minutes in my case. Set the tray aside for 10 minutes for coulibiacs to cool slightly before serving.
14. Enjoy!     

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

• 222 kcal
• Carbs: 18 g 
• Fat: 12 g
• Protein: 9 g
• Fibre: 1 g

1 coulibiac (recipe makes 4 coulibiacs)

• 1318 kcal
• Carbs: 107 g 
• Fat: 73 g
• Protein: 52 g
• Fibre: 6 g