Greetings, foodies. If you're here, chances are you have a taste for something excellent, exceptional, or out of the ordinary. We here at The Hungry Blogger are dedicated to bringing you recipes, restaurant reviews and even some culinary history. So, pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine and encourage your appetite.
Let's just go ahead and dive right in. Today, the topic is
Beef Carpaccio. This delectable starter is, far and away, my favorite antipasto dish.
Antipasto? It's an Italian term that means, simply and literally, Before (anti) the Meal (pasto). Antipasti are generally light, flavorful dishes that prime a diner's belly for the heavier main courses that make up so much of Italian fare. Best of all, antipasti are designed to be shared. They're pretty, have a banquet-grazing feel to them and they are exceedingly easy to make.
Which is not to say a proper antipasto doesn't require a careful attention to detail. This goes double for carpaccio. Here's what you'll need:
- Beef tenderloin (tip), 10 oz
- Light, leafy greens like arugula, spinach and radicchio, enough to make a good bed
- Olive oil, 1 cup
- Balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup
- Salt, preferably kosher
- Black pepper, preferably fresh-ground
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Your first step is going to be chilling your beef. Traditionally, carpaccio uses medallions of beef sliced extremely thin. It's easiest to do this if your tenderloin has spent an hour or two rolled up in plastic wrap in a clean freezer. Now that your beef can be easily cut, unwrap it and make your slices no more than a quarter inch thick. Place your medallions on a new sheet of plastic wrap, adding another layer of plastic on top of the beef. Now, out comes the meat mallet. You don't need to wallop the medallions. Think of it as a very insistent massage. However you go about it, that beef needs to be thin to the point of nearly falling apart. 10 ounces should give you enough to serve four or five people.
It's time for mixing a proper vinaigrette. You could go the store-bought route, but the real stuff is very easy. Your oil can be flavored with a variety of herbs and spices, but in the case of carpaccio the meat, salt and pepper should bring enough flavor on their own. Also, there's no need to cover up the underlying fruitiness of olive oil. Because you need to emulsify your mixture, you can't just dump your olive oil into your vinegar. Rather, very slowly drizzle the olive oil into the vinegar while continuously whisking.
Pour a portion of your vinaigrette on the bed of greens so they can absorb all of that flavor. For presentation's sake, lay your beef medallions on top of the greens instead of tossing them. The red will really pop against the green background, especially after you add a nice sheen of vinaigrette to the meat. Add salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese to taste. If you've done everything you were supposed to do, the carpaccio will cut with the slightest touch of a fork.
When do we cook the meat? We don't. No need to worry. This isn't like biting into an uncooked steak. Just remember to buy fresh beef from a trusted butcher, keep your work station spotless and use clean utensils. The plastic and the time in the freezer will keep things safe.
Enjoy.
