I had some left-over puff pastry from an apple pie I made earlier in the week, so I figured we would try something new and savory. I saw this recipe online as a favorite of the late Prince Philip. Coulibiac is a Russian pastry dish with a savory filling such as salmon or sturgeon with rice, hard boiled eggs, mushrooms, onions and dill. This dish was later popularized by French chef, Auguste Escoffier. Instead of mushrooms, I used a red bell pepper and onion.

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 stick of cold unsalted butter- diced into small pieces

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup cold water

Make the dough in a food processor and then wrap in plastic wrap and leave in fridge overnight.

Filling:

1 red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 tbsps of dill, chopped

1 cup of cooked rice

2 hard boiled eggs cut in quarters

2 pieces of skinless salmon

Egg wash

Salt and black pepper

Dill Sauce:

1 tsp dill finely minced

1 oz white wine

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 oz 2% milk (I used lactose free)

1 tbsp butter

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions :

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil and a tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. I also added a few drops of white truffle oil. Add red onion and red bell pepper until translucent. Add the dill and cooked rice and turn heat down to low, continue to sauté until caramelized nicely. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside and let it cool for 10 min.

Season the two pieces of salmon with salt and black pepper. Roll out the dough with some flour in a rectangular shape. Add the above filling to the middle of the dough, then place the two pieces of salmon skin side up. Then cover with the rest of the filling. Use the eggwash to brush along all the sides. Fold the long side first over the filling and salmon, then the other side. Trim the ends of excess dough and then fold the sides. Flip the coulibiac onto parchment paper and a sheet pan. Use the remaining egg wash to brush the pastry. Use a small knife to score the pastry with a pattern but not cut through.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and crispy and a thermometer inserted is around 160°F, about 30-40 minutes. Let it cool on baking sheet 10 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut crosswise into 6 even portions. Garnish with the dill sauce.