Vegetarians, turn away now...

... everyone else, keep your eyes glued.

244. Home carpaccio of beef (One & Two)

You can start the recipe a few days in advance, but don't have to. I finally got around to making this recipe this morning, because I missed my bus to work! The next one wasn't for half an hour, and the butcher is right opposite my bus stop, so I went in, picked up 380g of beef eye fillet (I increased the quantities from the recipe to feed 3 of us), and took it home to do the in-advance preparation.

380g beef fillet

To prepare the beef, you brush it with olive oil, and press coarsely ground peppercorns on all sides.


Peppered

Then you sear it in a super-hot pan for 60 seconds on each side, before dunking it in iced water, and patting it dry.


searing

After the searing-dunking-drying malarkey, I left it in the fridge and raced to get the next bus, which I caught. And I got to work JUST on time, phew! I came home at around 6, and all that there was left to do was to assemble the dish. (Very easy).

Firstly, slice the meat very thinly (Nigella says it doesn't have to be too thin, but I prefer it this way)...


rags

...and then dress some salad leaves with olive oil and lemon juice, and divide it between your serving plates. Then lay the meaty rags on top, followed by shavings of parmesan cheese.


home carpaccio of beef

This is totally the most awesome beef dish ever - it was light and refreshing, perfect for a warm and humid day. And the beef itself, oh my god! I think that when you start with super-high quality beef, you can't go wrong. (I do think that it would be pointless to do this dish with crap beef though, as you really taste the beef). So, if you're happy to spend a bit extra on special meat, it would be very nice to treat yourself to some of this.

And here's one more shot...


Drool.