{"id":9345,"date":"2018-01-20T14:26:36","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T13:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=9345"},"modified":"2019-12-09T11:57:27","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T10:57:27","slug":"coulbac-careme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/coulbac-careme\/","title":{"rendered":"Coulibiac with chicken, a recipe from Car\u00eame"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

Russian pastry from the classic French cuisine<\/h2>\n

Coulibiac or coulbac is a traditional Russian pie that has been assimilated in to the classic French cuisine as early as the nineteenth century. The Russian name\u00a0koulibiac<\/em>\u00a0has its origins in German:\u00a0Kohlgeback<\/em> (pastry with cabbage). Some versions of coulibiac do contain cabbage. The version with fish often also contains a special ingredient:\u00a0v\u00e9siga<\/em>, the dried spine of a sturgeon. The French early nineteenth-century cook Car\u00eame suggests to use turbot instead of salmon, sturgeon or zander when preparing the pie in Paris. The picture on top of this page is a view of the river Neva in Saint Petersburg (1859), where the fish mentioned swam abundantly.<\/p>\n

\"PortraitThe Russian pie from Car\u00eame<\/h3>\n

The historical recipe on this page is not the Russian version, but the adaptation by Antonin Car\u00eame (1784-1833) and published by Armand Plumery in the fifth and final part of\u00a0L\u2019art de la cuisine Fran\u00e7aise aux XIXe si\u00e8cle<\/em>\u00a0(‘The French culinary art in the nineteenth century’) in 1844, eleven years after Car\u00eame had died. However, already in his first publication\u00a0, Le patissier royal Parisien<\/em> (1815), Car\u00eame provides a recipe for\u00a0\u2018Pat\u00e9 chaud Russe\u2019: a hot Russian pie that the young cook had seen being prepared at the home of the Russian ambassador\u00a0Kourakin by his cook, who was of course also Russian. Car\u00eame does not use the name coulbac<\/em>, and the stuffing in his recipe seems to have been ‘Frenchified’: alternating layers of salmon and goose liver from Strassbourg are separated by chopped hard-boiled eggs and surrounded by rice that has been cooked in chicken stock. Car\u00eame does not specify what kind of dough he uses, probably the shortcrust dough that was used for all kinds of hot pies. The Russian cook told Car\u00eame that these pies are not served with any sauce, but Car\u00eame suggests serving a\u00a0demi-espagnole \u00e0 glace<\/em>. Nowadays that is called a\u00a0demi-glace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The original recipe<\/h2>\n

Although the version of coulibiac with fish is more widely known, I have chosen another version, small pies with chicken. Many recipes for coulibiac with salmon use brioche dough and buckwheat (kasha), but this version with chicken calls for puff pastry and rice, which is more European in character. The source is\u00a0the fifth and final part of\u00a0L\u2019art de la cuisine Fran\u00e7aise aux XIXe si\u00e8cle\u00a0<\/em>(‘Entr\u00e9es chaudes des rots en gras et en maigre’) 1844 (see bibliography<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Petits coulbacs de poulet \u00e0 la Russe<\/em><\/p>\n

Pour deux douzaines: hachez persil, champignons, ciboules, que vous passerez au beurre, ajoutez un peu de raifort hach\u00e9 et blanchi, sel, poivre, muscade rap\u00e9e; lorsque cet assaisonnement sera pass\u00e9, joignez-y une petite cuiller\u00e9e \u00e0 pot de sauce espagnole travaill\u00e9e; lorsque la r\u00e9duction sera \u00e0 son point, reitirez du feu; ajoutez dedans des blancs de volaille coup\u00e9s en gros d\u00e9s, un quart de riz, cuit dans de bon consomm\u00e9, deux oeufs dur coup\u00e9s en d\u00e9s; mettez sur un plat refroidir; vous aurez des rognures de feuilletage auxquelles vous aurez donn\u00e9 quatre tours; abaissez-les, apr\u00e8s qu\u2019elles auront repos\u00e9 dix minutes, de l\u2019\u00e9paisseur de petits pat\u00e9s au naturel; coupez-les de m\u00eame; placez les vingt-quatre fonds sur un plafond mouill\u00e9, et mouillez-les avec soin; placez sur chaque, gros comme une noix de l\u2019appareil; recouvrez et appuyez comme pour fermer les petits p\u00e2t\u00e9s; dorez, seulement avec de l\u2019eau, et masquez l\u00e9g\u00e8rement de mie de pain fraiche; cuisez ainsi au four demi-gai pendant vingt-cinq \u00e0 trente minutes; donnez une belle couleur et servez.<\/em><\/div>

Small coulibiac with chicken the Russian way<\/p>\n

For two dozen. Chop parsley, mushrooms and chives, stew these is butter, add some horseradish, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Then add a serving spoon prepared sauce espagnole. Remopve from the heat when the sauce jas been reduced enough. Then add cubes of chicken fillet, a quarter pound rice, cooked in good stock, and two chopped hard-boiled eggs. Let this cool on a dish. Take pieces of puff pastry that you have given four tours (4x folding and rolling out). Let rest for ten minutes, then roll them out to the thickness of ordinary pastry and cut them likewise. Place 24 bottoms on a moistened worktop and moisten them carefully. Place on each (piece of dough) some stuffing, the size of a walnut. Cover [with dough] and press well to close the small pasties. Coat them with just water, and sprinkle them lightly with some breadcrumbs. bake them in a moderately hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Give them a good colour and serve.<\/div>

<\/div><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipe<\/h2>\n

It is possible to prepare these pies using puff pastry from the freezer, stock cubes and a package of ready-bought brown sauce. There is nothing wrong with that, because using Car\u00eame’s recipe will require two days of hard work.<\/p>\n

For 36 small pies<\/span>; preparation in advance<\/em>\u00a030 minutes<\/span><\/span>; preparation<\/em>\u00a015 minutes + 25 minutes baking<\/span><\/span>.

<\/div><\/p>\n

\"'Coulbac'puff pastry<\/span>\u00a0(see this page<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The stuffing<\/em>
\ngreen part of 2 spring onions (scallions)
\n2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
\n150 gr mushrooms<\/span>
\n\u00bd \u00e0 1 Tbsp grated\u00a0horseradish<\/span>
\npepper, salt and nutmeg to taste
\n2 Tbsp butter
\n1\u00bc dl espagnole<\/span> (see recipe<\/a>)
\n300 gr fillet of chicken<\/span>
\n75 gr long-grain rice<\/span>
\n2 hard-boiled eggs<\/span>
\nchicken stock for the rice and chicken fillet<\/p>\n

Optionally<\/em>
\nfresh crumbs of three sandwiches<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Of course one can use ready-bought puff pastry, but it is worthwhile to make it yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cook the rice using chicken stock (from a stock cube or\u00a0home made<\/a>). Poach the chicken fillets also in some chicken stock, and cut into small pieces when they are done. Chop the hard-boiled eggs.<\/p>\n

Chop scallions, parsley and mushrooms, and braise them in 2 tablespoons butter. Add grated horseradish, pepper, salt and nutmeg to taste. Stir in the\u00a0sauce espagnole<\/em><\/a>, and heat through. Then add chicken and rice, and finally the eggs. Let this stuffing cool in a wide dish.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Roll out the puff pastry and divide it in as many round or square pieces as needed. Scoop the stuffing on one half of each piece, moisten the edges and fold the other half over the stuffing to get ‘half moons’ or triangles. Press the edges well together. Braise the top of the pies with some water and sprinkle some bread crumbs on it if an extra crunchy crust is desired. Bake the pies in a preheated oven on 220 \u00b0C\/430 \u00b0F for 17 to 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

To serve<\/h3>\n

These small pies can be served either hot or cooled to room temperature. When hot, serve with\u00a0sauce espagnole<\/a>, otherwise serve some sour cream or cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche with them.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

\"HorseradishHorseradish<\/h4>\n

Deze witte, scherp-smakende wortel (Armoracia rusticana<\/em>) kom je weinig tegen in de klassieke Franse keuken. De plant komt waarschijnlijk uit Centraal-Europa, en hoewel de Oude Grieken mierikswortel vooral kenden als medicinaal gewas, beperkte het culinaire gebruik zich lange tijd tot die regio. De smaak wordt wel met die van mosterd vergeleken (Dioscorides noemt mierikswortel ‘Perzische mosterd’), en tegenwoordig is het hier een vervanging van wasabi, de knalgroene Japanse mierikswortel. Reken maar dat ‘wasabi’ hier inderdaad soms gewoon mierikswortel met een kleurtje is. In West-Europa dringt mierikswortel pas na de Middeleeuwen door in de keuken. Persoonlijke tip: sandwich van rosbief met mierikswortel!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n