Salmon Kulebiaka

This meal felt so elegant, we used the Limoges!

This is an EXQUISITE dish that takes a fair amount of time to prep, but the payoff is entirely worth your effort. I decided to try puff pastry instead of bread dough, which the original recipe used, and it added such rich flavor and crunchy, delicate texture that I highly recommend you do the same. The salmon comes out moist and flaky, and the fresh dill – both in the kulebiaka and the sauce – is wonderful. Please, don't skip the sauce. It's that bit of decadence that puts this recipe over the top. Whether you’re entertaining friends or celebrating a Tuesday, this dish will suit any occasion. 

Here’s how I made it:

One sheet of puff pastry dough, thawed

Filling:

Oil/butter/margarine

¾ cup brown rice, prepared as directed and cooled

1½ cups onion, finely diced

1 cup mushrooms, diced

2-3 lbs salmon filets, skinned and cut to uniform thickness

1 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

5 hard-boiled eggs, separated and finely diced

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Glaze:

1 egg

1 Tbsp skim milk

Sauce:

2 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

½ cup butter

2 Tbsp white wine

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onions and mushrooms in the oil till soft and golden, about 5 minutes.

On floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle roughly 18”x15”. Trim edges neatly, and keep the scraps of dough. Transfer the dough onto a large baking sheet. As you add the layers of ingredients, season as desired with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Spread rice along the one half of the dough (lengthwise), leaving a 1” border on the long edge and two short ends. Top the rice with the mushroom-onion mixture, then the salmon, dill, egg yolks and egg whites.

Lift the edges of dough up around the filling layers. Beat the egg and milk, then brush the glaze onto those edges. Fold remaining pastry over filling; overlap the edges and fold under gently.

Using the scraps of dough, decorate the kulebiaka with shapes, braids or other trimmings, adhering them to the loaf with some glaze. (The original recipe suggests holly leaves with diced red pepper for berries, perfect during the Christmas season.) Refrigerate, lightly covered, for about an hour. Set the remaining glaze aside.

When you’re ready to bake, brush the kulebiaka with the leftover glaze and bake for 40-45 minutes or till golden brown.

While the kulebiaka rests for a few minutes, heat the sauce ingredients, adding the dill just before serving.

Cook’s Note: If you’re using traditional bread dough, like in the original version, then increase the oven temp to 400°. Also, the sauce in the original recipe contains lemon juice, but I omitted it in favor of a creamier taste.