It’s beautiful, gourmet, refreshing, and needs very minimal prep. Make beef carpaccio just as you enjoy it at the restaurant.
By the end of this post, you’ll be able to prepare beef carpaccio better than the chefs do at a restaurant. And you’ll be in amazement when you see just how easy it is.
This is the best part about beef carpaccio: You don’t need to do anything. The butcher will cut the meat for you. The only thing I do ahead of time is prepare a garlic aioli (i.e. mayo and roasted garlic blended together, that’s all, but you can totally use any mayo-based dressing such as Caesar). The rest I simply plate while the men are in shul.
First, I want to start with an apology to the butchers for giving you so much slicing work on erev Yom Tov. But, hopefully, if you do a good slicing job, they will keep coming back for more carpaccio and also some things that are already in the showcase.
Oh, also important for everyone else: Don’t be scared. If you like sushi, you’ll like this even better. It’s everything that you like about sushi, minus the fishiness. And I hear that eating raw meat is safer than raw fish. Beef Carpaccio can be frozen, but in general, it’s not something you leave lying around. Buy fresh and serve (your butcher needs advance notice to prep it) or buy, freeze, and thaw immediately before serving.
First step: The meat. You need lean, high quality meat. The center of the ribeye (aka filet mignon or mock filet mignon, since it’s not really filet mignon) is what was recommended to me. But you can’t just walk into the butcher shop and ask them to cut a filet mignon really thinly for you. It needs to be slightly frozen before it can be sliced, so it’s something that you would order and pick up later. If yours doesn’t seem thin enough, you can pound it.
How much? A half a pound of carpaccio slices will cover two dinner plates, good for one plate at each side of the table. Each plate will serve about 4 people as an appetizer. If you’re serving a crowd, you may want more.
First, simply place the carpaccio on the plate to cover.
You can be gentle, or not. If anything breaks apart, no worries, you can cover it with another piece.
Now it’s time to decorate! This is going to be fun. Place some greens in the center. I use Summer Crisp.
Really, what you add to your beef carpaccio is quite flexible.
You will need a crunchy element–I love to use radishes. You can use regular radishes,
but I happen to be in a watermelon radish phase (I will write all about them in another post).
1 small or ¼ large radish, cut into matchsticks.
Dot the garlic aioli all over the carpaccio.
As far as your garlic aioli. Sure, you can use something store-bought. I simply blend some garlic confit that I have on hand with mayo. If you’re making it from scratch, wrap some garlic cloves in foil and bake until soft and golden. Blend ½ cup lite mayo + Roasted Garlic + 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice + ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard + ½ teaspoon salt. I use a mini chopper. That’s all. Put the aioli in a piping bag and snip the end.
Add capers too–capers are like mini pickles and add a nice briny element.
Finally, garnish with fresh parsley
and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil (I whisk together 1 tsp olive oil + 2 tsp lemon juice and I find that’s enough).
I think carpaccio is excellent with the crust of sourdough. It’s excellent on its own too, but I think it’s nicer on top of something crispy.
Making beef carpaccio will make you feel like you’re at a restaurant. I love that it’s meat, but feels light and fresh–it’s a great, summer alternative to the heavier meats. Enjoy!
Beef Carpaccio
Ingredients
- ½ lb. beef carpaccio
- 1 cup greens
- 1 small or ¼ large radish, cut into matchsticks
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp garlic aioli (store-bought or see below)
- fresh parsley
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
Garlic aioli:
- ½ cup lite mayo
- 6 roasted garlic cloves
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Blend together garlic aioli ingredients. Add to a piping bag and snip off the end. You only need a little bit for each plate, but the aioli will last in the fridge for weeks when stored in an airtight container.
- Plate the carpaccio. Place the meat to cover a dinner plate. Add a handful of greens into the center. Add radishes and capers around the plate. Dot with garlic aioli and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Combine lemon juice and olive oil and drizzle all over carpaccio and greens. Serve fresh.
|