Beef Carpaccio

A beautiful piece of beef tenderloin cooked for a second just to sear the outside and served with your very best, BEST olive oil, a sprinkle of flaked salt and a drizzle of aged balsamic is just a bite of heaven. You can stop there and it will be fantastic but, I have also created a little mustard dressing and served a salad of tender greens for a great first course. Carpaccio can be served completely raw and most people freeze it slightly so that it can be sliced paper thin or you can sear it lightly and slice thin then flatten the meat with the side of the knife to further thin it out. I like it both ways.

You will need:

• a piece of beef tenderloin (mine was .34kg) I used this piece for the carpaccio and some beef crostini with horseradish cream (see link to recipe)
• handful of flat/Italian parsley- never buy the curly if you can buy the flat- much more flavour.
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh chives
• 1 tbsp dry Italian Seasoning
• salt/pepper

Chili Oil

• 1/2 cup olive 
• 1-2 cloves garlic- crushed
• 1/2 tsp dry chili flakes
• 1 fresh red chili- sliced (seeds included)

Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp horseradish (creamed or regular or fresh grated)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt/pepper
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• mixed salad greens
• a nice sprinkling of Maldon- or any large flaked salt
• aged balsamic vinegar for drizzling
• your very best olive oil for drizzling

Step 1: in a food processor or with a sharp knife, chop parsley, garlic, rosemary, thyme, chives and add dry Italian seasoning. Sprinkle mixture on a plate and roll the piece of beef pressing the herbs to allow it to stick. Wrap in plastic and put in fridge for an hour or 2. 

Step 2: Bring the meat out and let come to room temperature before cooking. It should not be cold when it goes into the hot pan. Just before putting it in the hot pan sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.

Step 3: In a small bowl add oil, fresh and dry chilies and garlic. This garlic can infuse for a few hours or a few days. The longer it sits the stronger it gets.

Step 4: in a small jar add ingredients for dressing: olive oil, Dijon mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Shake well to mix ad set aside.

Step 5: in a heavy or cast iron pan, heat until very hot. Once hot add a few tbsp of chili oil, sprinkle meat with some salt and pepper and place in pan. I cooked the meat on each side for 1 minute and then removed the meat. I cooked this for a total of 5 minutes.

Let meat rest for a few minutes before slicing.

I sliced the meat as thin as I could with a sharp knife and then flattened the meat further with the side of the knife blade. Be careful not to tear the delicate meat. You can simply finish with sea salt, pepper,  a drizzle of good oil and a bit of aged balsamic or you can dress it with a bit of tender lettuce and some mustard dressing.

I also used the remainder of this piece of meat to create these delicious Beef slices on crostini with some horseradish cream (see link for recipe)

My husband was in heaven!! you have got to make these recipes.