A stunning classic French dish featuring flaky puff pastry encasing delicately poached salmon, fluffy rice, mushroom duxelles, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh herbs. Beautifully decorated and perfectly golden, this impressive entrée is finished with a warm garlic and herb butter sauce—ideal for holiday gatherings.
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Adapted from a video by French Cooking Academy
Make a Stunning Salmon Coulibiac at Home for christmas
white wineoptional, such as Noilly Prat~100 mlest.
puff pastry~500 gest.
egg washfor brushing~1est.
Steps
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1
Bring water to a boil and cook two eggs for about 9 minutes until hard-boiled; set aside.
2
Prepare the poaching broth by adding salt, thyme, and bay leaves to boiling water (optionally add wine); simmer 1–2 minutes to release flavours, then add paprika powder for a special touch. Turn heat off.
3
Place the skinless salmon in the hot broth with heat off and allow it to poach gently in the residual heat for 5–6 minutes until just cooked through.
4
Remove the salmon and immediately stop the cooking process with cold water; keep it in the cooled broth while preparing remaining ingredients.
5
Boil the rice until tender and drain well.
6
Prepare couscous by bringing 75 g of salted, herb-infused water to a boil and immediately pouring it over 50 g of couscous. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes until all liquid is absorbed, then fluff gently with a fork.
7
Make the mushroom duxelles by melting butter, gently cooking finely chopped shallots over low heat for about 5 minutes until softened, then adding finely chopped mushrooms. Increase heat, add parsley, and cook until mushrooms release and reabsorb their juices, leaving a dry mixture.
8
Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced). Unroll the puff pastry, cut one smaller piece for the base and one larger piece for the top, then immediately return both to the freezer to keep cold.
9
Prepare for assembly: flake the cooked salmon into small pieces, slice the hard-boiled eggs, and ensure all components (cooked rice, couscous, mushroom duxelles, salmon, eggs) are completely cold and well-drained. Have egg wash and all tools ready.
10
Place the smaller pastry piece on the baking sheet. Layer rice first, keeping at least 2 cm border all around, then add couscous, salmon, mushroom duxelles, and finish with thin slices of egg on top.
11
Fold the pastry edges gently inward to create a case for the filling. Lightly moisten the edges with water, place the larger pastry piece on top, and press the edges firmly together with the back of a knife. Trim any excess pastry.
12
Score decorative patterns (such as leaf designs) onto the pastry surface using the back of a knife, taking care not to pierce the dough.
13
Brush on a first coat of egg wash and return to the freezer to chill. Apply any additional decorations if desired, then brush with a final coat of egg wash.
14
Bake in the preheated 200°C fan-forced oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
15
Remove from the oven and let cool briefly, then carefully slice with a long serrated knife to reveal the beautiful layers of filling.
16
Prepare an herb butter sauce by gently melting butter (warming from solid to liquid without cooking it in the pan) and infusing it with garlic and fresh herbs if desired.
17
Drizzle the warm herb butter sauce over the sliced coulibiac and serve immediately while still warm.
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