Russian salmon and rice pie (Kulebyaka)

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm milk and leave for 10 minutes until frothy; knead the flour, salt, melted lukewarm butter and the yeast mixture into a smooth, elastic dough, cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile cook the rice in salted water until tender, hard-boil 3 eggs for 10 minutes and chop them; skin the salmon and cut it into 3 cm pieces.

3. Fry the finely chopped onion and sliced mushrooms in the oil until the mushroom liquid has completely evaporated; season with salt and pepper. Mix the rice with the chopped egg and dill.

4. Divide the dough into two parts (one larger, one smaller) and roll the smaller one out on baking paper into a rectangle of about 20×35 cm; layer on half the rice, the mushrooms, the salmon seasoned with salt and pepper, then the rest of the rice, leaving a 3 cm border.

5. Lay the larger sheet of dough over the top, pinch the edges together and cut decorations from the trimmings; brush the top with the last beaten egg, cut a small steam hole in the middle and rest for 20 minutes; meanwhile heat the oven to 190 °C.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until deep golden; let it cool for 15 minutes, then cut into thick slices and serve with melted butter or sour cream.

Tip: Kulebyaka is the festive pie of tsarist Russian cuisine; the layers are there so the rice keeps the fish from drying out – the classic version even had thin pancakes laid between the layers.