ROAST SMOK ED SALMON KOULIBIACA
I have been very fortunate to collaborate with Rosie Campbell-preston of Inverawe Smokehouses over the past ten years. We have created some delicious smoked fish recipes together, this being a favourite. Roast smoked salmon is brined salmon, suspended over hot smoke, which cooks and smokes it at the same time. Serve this in generous slices with a mixed-leaf salad tossed in a sharp lemony dressing.
SERVES 4–6
● 75g butter
● 6 spring onions, chopped
● 125g button mushrooms, roughly chopped
● 75g basmati rice
● 225ml light fish stock
● 600g roast smoked salmon (or smoked salmon)
● 2 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
● 1–2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
● 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
● Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
● 1 quantity Rough Puff
Pastry (see right)
● 1 egg, lightly beaten
● Salt and freshly ground black pepper
● A heavy baking sheet, greased with butter
Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 425°F/gas 7.
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan set over a medium heat, add the spring onions and mushrooms, and cook for 2–3 minutes. Stir in the rice and mix well, then pour in the fish stock. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat, uncover and leave to cool.
2. Break the roast smoked salmon into large flakes
(or roughly chop the smoked salmon) and place in a mixing bowl. Roughly chop the hard-boiled eggs and add to the salmon with half the dill and half the parsley, mixing well. Taste and season, but don’t use too much salt as the salmon will be salty already.
3. Tip the cooked rice into another bowl and use a fork to fluff it up, then mix in the remaining dill and parsley and the lemon zest and juice. Taste and season.
4. Roll out the pastry to a 35 x 27cm rectangle directly onto a piece of clingfilm. Spoon half the rice mix onto the centre of the pastry, widthways, leaving a good bit of pastry at either side that will eventually wrap over the filling. Leave a border of at least 2.5cm at either end.
5. Carefully spoon the salmon mix evenly over the rice, piling it high. You may want to use your hands to mould this into shape. Top with the remaining rice mix, pressing and moulding it into a rounded loaf shape.
6. Bring one side of the pastry up and over the filling, brush the edge with beaten egg, then bring the other side over to enclose the filling completely. Pinch the ends to seal. Using the clingfilm, carefully flip over onto the prepared baking sheet so that the sealed edges are underneath.
Brush the surface of the pastry all over with the beaten egg. (If it is a special occasion, use extra pastry to cut into fish shapes to decorate the pie, then glaze it again. Alternatively, glaze first, then use the tip of a teaspoon to indent half-moons over the pie to resemble fish scales.) Chill for at least 30 minutes.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.