Carpaccio

Raw beef frozen briefly so it can be sliced almost to transparency, dressed only at the table.

Beef. Not vegetarian — contains beef, parmesan whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 400 g beef fillet, in one piece, very fresh
• 1 lemon
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 60 g parmesan, in shavings
• 80 g rocket
• flaky salt
• black pepper

Method

1. Buy the fillet from a butcher you trust and use it the same day. It is eaten raw and there is no step here that makes poor meat safe.
2. Wrap it tightly in cling film and FREEZE IT FOR 45 MINUTES. Not frozen through — firm. Fresh beef at fridge temperature squashes under a knife and tears; half-frozen it slices clean.
3. Unwrap and slice as thinly as you can with a long sharp knife, against the grain.
4. Lay the slices between two sheets of cling film and flatten them further with the base of a pan, gently, until they are nearly transparent.
5. Arrange them on cold plates in a single layer.
6. Dress ONLY AT THE TABLE: squeeze the lemon, pour the oil, salt, pepper, then the rocket and parmesan. Lemon on raw beef begins to cure it on contact — dressed in the kitchen it arrives grey at the edges and firm, which is a different dish and not a better one.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes