Page: 42
Date Cooked: January 16, 2011
Carpaccio (raw meat or fish served ultra thing) is a dish I have only had in restaurants. To be quite honest, I've never trusted myself enough to make it on my own. However, this project gave me the impetus to prepare beef carpaccio. Not to mention, since it's raw I suppose there was no real hard cooking to do. Except of course for the hardest part of the entire recipe - the making of mayonnaise.
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| Ingredients: Sherry vinegar, salt, walnut oil, olive oil, shallots, filet mignon, egg yolks, lemon juice, pepper, small white potatoes, lime, red leaf lettuce, and chives |
Jonathan Waxman instructs to make the vinaigrette first so it can stand for 1 hour and develop its flavors. Accordingly, sherry vinegar, salt, walnut oil, and olive oil were all whisked together. Minced shallots were added to the vinaigrette and the bowl was set to the side.
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| Vinaigrette |
Then it was on to the meat. The beef was first cut into 6 portions - as equal as I could do it. A piece of parchment paper was oiled on one side and the meat was placed on this side. Another oiled piece of parchment paper was placed on top of the meat (oil side down). With a heavy rolling pin, I pounded the meat till it was nice and thin. Waxman says to get it to an 8-inch circle. However this was difficult considering my meat didn't come in rounds, but I did the best I could do.
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| From Left to Right: 1. Meat cut into 6 equal portions 2. One piece placed on oiled parchment paper 3. After pounding with rolling pin |
Of course this was done with all six pieces of meat. I felt very "cave woman-esque." Getting my frustration out by pounding pieces of raw meat. After all the pieces had been carpaccio-ed, they were placed in the fridge.
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| All 6 pieces of beef carpaccio |
Next step: Mayonnaise. If you have been reading this journey from the beginning, you are well aware of the battle between myself and mayonnaise making. I now see it in the cookbook and cringe just a little. It seems to be all about chance. I began by whisking egg yolks with lemon juice for 3 solid minutes. I then added olive oil, one teaspoon at a time, while continuing to whisk. And guess what: it actually began to look like mayonnaise! The consistency looked correct and I was super pleased. The only thing different, was that Jonathan Waxman calls for hot water to be whisked to the mayonnaise, which was somewhat surprising and upsetting - because the addition of water really liquefied the mixture. The mayonnaise was then seasoned with salt and pepper.
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| Left: Whisking away Right: Check out that consistency! |
While I was the making the mayonnaise. The potatoes had been peeled, cut into small rounds, and boiled till tender. The cooked potatoes were then added to the mayonnaise and mixed together.
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| Warm Potato Salad |
With all the components ready, it was time to plate. The lettuce was tossed in the vinaigrette and placed on the plate. The potato salad was spooned onto the middle of plate. Finally, the carpaccio came out of the fridge and after peeling one layer of parchment paper, the meat was inverted on the plate. The carpaccio was dressed with vinaigrette, chives, and some lime.
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| Beef Carpaccio with Warm Potato Salad |
This was a meat and potatoes kind of meal and it was really good. Though I say meat and potatoes, it all felt so very light and fresh. I think with a carpaccio, you pay homage to the life you're eating. Truly enjoying the meat and savoring its natural flavors. The warm potato salad was also delicious and went so well with everything. One of my favorite components on the plate was the vinaigrette. This was not the first time I have been impressed with a Waxman vinaigrette (Three Tomato Salad Version 1 Vinaigrette). I don't know if I can adequately explain really how good this vinaigrette was - and the addition of the shallots was perfect. I suppose next time (since there will be a next time) I'll try to get those perfect rounds. But heck perfection is overrated!
Enjoy!
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