These are two shots of my 2nd time ever making it, 1st solo effort!, after making my very first Coulibiac in a Lenôtre class in Paris. Seen here on my round Fish Dish, this is a recipe I love for its Wow! factor when served in all its glory with sauces and accompaniments and for how many different proteins would work well.
Above are two stages of making the pâte à brioche, and how we prepared champignons en brunoise.
The mushrooms were cleaned carefully to avoid their becoming water logged. Note that after the stems are trimmed off, and caps placed on some type of toweling to draw away moisture, they’re easier to horizontally slice in thirds or half (depending on size) as they’ll lay flat on the cutting board. Once each cap has been bisected or trisected, it is then cut into the brunoise-sized umami ingredient that grounds the fish components inside the pâte en brioche. Note: This is almost double the quantity of mushrooms called for in the recipe I learned in the Lenôtre kitchen, as we love them, so I recommend you adjust some quantities on the filling to taste.
Above is a short video of the salmon skin removal. Note the woman here is firmly gripping the tip of the skin before sliding the knife under; go slowly and stop as needed to ensure that valuable salmon meat isn’t also removed.