Koulibiak of Salmon

(Source: Robert Carrier’s Home Cooking, pub. Daily Telegraph Magazine, 1968)

Serves 4 - 6
flaky pastry dough
1 thick salmon steak
salt and freshly ground black pepper
butter
8 button mushrooms, sliced
½ Spanish onion, finely chopped
½ lb cooked rice
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 hard boiled eggs
1 egg yolk, beaten with a little water
Melted butter or hot salted double cream

Sauté salmon in a little butter until tender. Cool.
Sauté sliced mushrooms and finely chopped onion in 4 tbsp butter until onion is transparent. Combine with cooked rice and chopped parsley and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Roll out pastry into 2 rectangles 10” x 8” and place one on greased baking sheet.
Spoon half the cooked rice mixture on to the pastry, leaving 1 inch pastry round the edge. Pour a little melted butter over the rice. Cover rice with 1 sliced hard boiled egg and top with salmon steak. Put another sliced egg on top of salmon and top with cooked rice.
Brush visible pastry base with a little beaten egg yolk, then place remaining pastry rectangle on top of rice and pinch pastry well together. Decorate pastry as desired (and cut steam vents); brush with beaten egg yolk and bake in a hot oven (450º F / Gas 7) for 10 min. Reduce heat to 375º F / Gas 4 and cook for 15 – 20 mins more, until pastry is golden.
Serve with a little melted butter or hot double cream.