Anyone who knew Prince Philip could tell you about how much he loved food. According to
Hello!, the Prince fancied himself as a self-reliant cook, avidly grilled for the royal family
up to five times a week when they vacationed in Balmoral. With a penchant for food, Prince
Philip had a variety of favorite meals, but one Russian dish ranked above all others.
Darren McGrady, the former Royal chef, told Delish that the Prince loved salmon coulibiac,
a dish that features a puff pastry loaded with salmon, seasoning, and vegetables. This
salmon dish has a long history and ties to the upper crust of French and Russian society.
According to Fine Dining Lovers, French chefs adapted the modern salmon coulibiac from the
Russian original, which used buckwheat instead of rice and sturgeon instead of salmon. The
original even featured some extra spinal marrow from the sturgeon. The French version of the
dish took form after chef Auguste Escoffier served the salmon-and-rice version to homesick
Russian naval officers. Escoffier loved the adaption of the dish and included it in his
iconic 1903 cookbook. Julia Child used recipes from this same cookbook to develop modern
French cooking and helped spread the popularity of salmon coulibiac.
Anyone looking to treat themself to a time-tested favorite should give Prince Philip's favorite
meal a shot. This ornate dish features mushrooms, rice, salmon, and spinach seasoned with dill,
shallots, and white wine. Certain versions of this dish also feature an ornately-shaped
puff pastry exterior, perfectly sculpted to look like a fish, complete with scales and fins.
Finding this historic treat on modern menus proves difficult. According to Forman
and Field, you can potentially order a pre-made coulibiac online from the UK, but it lacks
the ornate pastry designs we might find on the homemade variety.
Times haven't changed too much either. According to The New York Times, you would have an equally
difficult time trying to track one of these historic pastries down in any fine dining
establishment in 1976 New York. When it comes to properly enjoying one of these show-stopping
entrees, you would have the most luck taking the time to assemble the dish at home. The
effort all pays off, as the decadence of the meal compares to that of high-quality caviar,
making it very apparent as to why salmon coulibiac ranked as one of Prince Philip's favorite dishes.
While the salmon coulibiac's lineage stems directly from the Russian kiulibiak, the dish
has even older roots. According to The New York Times, the Russian version entered Eastern
European kitchens thanks to German immigrants, who brought along the predecessor to the dish.
This original dish took the very basic elements of coulibiac and ran with them in more accessible ways.
This German dish consisted of chopped cabbage surrounded by a pastry, making it
an extremely simple dish to find ingredients for and lacked the later opulence of the coulibiac.
Over time, the kohlgeback evolved into a meal that demanded technical know-how, enough prep
time to intricately shape the pastry, and some of the finest ingredients fit for a prince.
Prince Philip not only enjoyed the dish, he partook in a custom recipe that chef McGrady
made just for the royal family. According to Delish, McGrady substituted tarragon in
for dill to give the dish a special twist. McGrady also believes that you can substitute
quinoa or another favored pulse for the rice to suit your own preference. The Prince also
loved to enjoy the dish with a special side sauce, made from pepper, garlic, rosemary,
and chicken broth pureed together. But not too much garlic, as that's one ingredient
that the Queen can't stand. As Chef McGrady told Delish in March 2020,
"Prince Phillip has a much broader palette than her majesty when it comes to food."
With an ornate treat like salmon coulibiac, it's no wonder that Prince Philip took so
fondly to this dish that serves up a whole meal in one slice. When you need to impress
guests and feel ready to embark on a true culinary undertaking, give salmon coulibiac
a shot to discover the dish that won a food lover like Prince Philip over.
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