happy new year everyone! i hope 2007 is tasty and filled with good stuff and wrapped in golden pastry. that is, i hope your new year is rather like this coulibiac i made for one christmas dinner (no photo unfortunately!)…life should really be more like pie.

it’s always a challenge to make a dramatic centerpiece for a meal without meat. the leg of lamb, roasted turkey, or crown roast makes an obvious focus of attention. my quest for a meatless centerpiece lead one year to an entree of cheese fondue accompanied by my mom’s turkey-shaped loaf of brioche. that was fun. but variety is the spice and all that, so another year, i went for coulibiac. if you really get into the sculptural potential of puff pastry, this loaf of fish (hah) is a perfect focus for your meat-free feast. (note! it is not just for christmas, but is certainly a fall-winter dish.)

this recipe for russian fish pie is gleaned from what i consider the best of many sources: my memory of the delicious ones turned out by the cleaver company, my former employer, and lots of reading about coulibiac and its many, many forms. some say that you make it with salmon and spinach so as to make festive red and green stripes when you cut it open. i find salmon a tad too strong, but it’s up to you. salmon-lovers should go for it. Read on… »