Food & Wine USA - (12)December 2020

HANDBOOK

38 DECEMBER 2020

TRIM THE SALMON

Using a sharp knife, trim the boneless, skinless

salmon fillet into a 9- x 4-inch rectangle.

SEASON THE SALMON

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper; spread

whole-grain mustard evenly over top of salmon.

1 2

ADD RICE AND SALMON

Form rice into a 9- x 4-inch rectangle centered

on the stack of 6 buttered phyllo sheets. Top

with mustard-brushed salmon.

3 4

BUTTER AND LAYER PHYLLO

Working with 1 sheet at a time, brush 6 phyllo

sheets with butter; stack neatly, and set aside.

Repeat with 4 sheets to create a second stack.

ADD BEETS AND KALE

Shingle pickled beets over salmon, slightly over-

lapping slices. Top beets with garlicky sautéed

kale in an even layer.

6

FOLD UP PHYLLO

Using your hands, fold edges of phyllo up and

around layered ingredients to create a boat

shape, pleating edges to tightly encase stack.

5

ONCE A SHOWY DISH on the tables of

czars, coulibiac has a storied past.

The pastry-wrapped parcel of fish

and layered fillings started its life

as kulebyaka, a Russian delicacy,

before being commandeered by the

French and rechristened as coulibiac.

Auguste Escoffier, famed Ritz Paris

restaurateur and cookbook author,

immortalized it in his early 20th cen-

tury cooking tomes, describing a fillet

of fresh salmon nestled between lay-

ers of hard-cooked eggs, rice, mush-

rooms, and onions, all enclosed in a

buttery brioche shell. As the decades

passed and coulibiac’s popularity

swelled, enterprising cooks experi-

mented with a host of decorative

adornments, crafting scales, tails, and

even fish heads out of pastry to tele-

graph the interior to curious diners.

This modern update swaps labor-

intensive brioche with store-bought

phyllo, which bakes into an ethereally

crisp parcel encasing vibrant layers

of lemony rice, mustard-brushed

salmon, pickled beets, and garlicky

kale. Refer to the steps at right to

assemble the coulibiac, and find the

full recipe on p. 40. To make your

holiday prep even easier, you can fully

prepare the dish through step 6 of the

recipe, leaving only a final decorative

scrunch of phyllo and baking for the

day you’ll serve it. It’s a strikingly

delicious dish worthy to adorn the

center of any holiday table—royal or

otherwise. KELSEY YOUNGMAN

COULIBIAC

OF SALMON