INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

*Well-seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg and tarragon.
Thaw puff pastry in refrigerator overnight.
Flake salmon, discarding bones but reserving juices to add to white sauce.
Mince mushrooms and onions; saute in butter and lemon juice until liquid
has evaporated.  Chill (or freeze) in airtight container, if preparing in
advance.
Hard-cook the 3 eggs.  Peel and slice.
Make the bechamel sauce, adding juice from salmon.
Lightly grease a large cookie sheet (12 x 18"); set aside. On pastry cloth,
roll out pastry dough to form a rectangle about 12 x 15" and about 1/4"
thick.
To assemble the dish, build layers along the center of dough as follows.
Season each well.  Spoon on: half the rice; half the mushroom-onion
mixture; 1/3 the white sauce; all the flaked salmon; 1/3 white sauce; fresh
dill sprigs; sliced eggs; rest of mushroom-onion blend; rest of white
sauce; and rest of rice.  (Note: The rice absorbs cooking juices and keeps
pastry from being soggy.) Season top.
Fold dough over filling, folding and turning up ends. Cut off any excess
dough.  Seal pastry edges on top and at each end with egg yolk glaze (one
egg yolk mixed with a little milk or water). I like to shape the dough into
a fish shape, head and tail at either end. Brush pastry with glaze.
Carefully lift ends of pastry cloth and roll coulibiak over onto greased
cookie sheet so seam is on the bottom.
Decorate top with cutouts of leftover dough (make eyes, fins and scales if
desired).  Be sure to put several slits into the pastry to allow steam to
escape.  Assembled coulibiak can be refrigerated up to several hours before
baking if necessary.
Bake in a preheated 400 F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until crust is
golden and juices start to appear. Watch crust carefully. If browning too
quickly, turn heat down to 375 F. and cook 10 minutes longer. Allow to
stand 10 minutes at room temperature.
To serve, loosen bottom of coulibiak with 2 spatulas and slide onto a
heated platter or serving tray. Slice into crosswise pieces to serve. Good
served with a crisp tossed salad.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Enright writes: "Former cooking school instructor Stephanie Woroshyl taught
me how to prepare this elegant Russian dish...Most of the steps can be done
a day or two in advance, making it ideal for impressive entertaining."
From _Nancy Enright's Canadian Herb Cookbook_ by Nancy Enright. Toronto:
James Lorimer & Company, 1985.  Pp. 38-39. ISBN 0-88862-788-2. Electronic
format by Cathy Harned.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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