Skip to main content

A different spin on beef carpaccio courtesey of Jamie


Have to declare that, although I bow at the altar of Jamie's talent, the new series on America has not impressed me that much ... a bit too much Jamie hangin' with the homeboys and not enough hob action for my taste. However this didn't stop me from cooking two of his older recipes on Saturday night.
The first was this simple beef carpaccio. As usual Mr Dale of Hampton Court provided the meat.

beneath is Jamies unexpurgated recipe



serves 4

ingredients
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 250g green or mixed beans, topped but not tailed
• 1 x 500g piece of beef fillet
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• olive oil

for the marinade
• 2 small shallots or ½ a small red onion, peeled and very finely chopped
• a handful of fresh soft herbs (chervil, parsley, yellow inner celery, tarragon), leaves picked and chopped
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
• extra virgin olive oi

Carpaccio is very thinly sliced raw meat. I like mine Italian style, with the meat sliced a little more thickly. This makes it a bit more rustic and you can really taste the quality of the meat. I also like to sear the meat very quickly before slicing it up, as this gives you a contrasting encrusted edge of flavour. It’s lovely with this marinated bean salad – you can simply use green beans, or a mixture of different ones.

You don’t need loads of meat for this, just a couple of slices per person, which should allow you to spend a little more on a good-quality piece of beef.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop in the beans and cook for about 5 minutes. When perfectly done, drain them in a colander.

To make the marinade, mix the chopped shallot or onion in a bowl with the herbs, mustard, vinegar and 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the hot cooked beans and toss. Put to one side to allow the beans to cool down and take on all the fantastic flavours.

Place the beef fillet on a chopping board and season it all over with salt and pepper. Run the thyme sprigs under hot water for a few seconds – this will help to release their fragrant oils. Strip the leaves from the stalks and chop them up roughly. Sprinkle the thyme over the fillet, then roll the meat around the chopping board so that any excess seasoning and herbs stick to it.

Get a heavy frying pan very hot and add a splash of oil, followed by the beef fillet. Fry for 1 minute only, turning it every few seconds to sear and encrust all the lovely flavourings on to it. Take the meat out of the frying pan and put it on to a plate to rest for a minute. (Once seared, you can serve straight away or you can keep the meat covered on a plate until needed. I prefer not to keep it in the fridge.)

Using a sharp knife, now slice the seared fillet this thick: ——.( about 1/4 of an inch Ed.) Lay each slice on a board and flatten as much as you can by pressing down on them with the side of a chopping knife – it works a treat. Lay two or three slices out flat on each plate. Season again lightly and place a pile of beans on top, spooning over some of the marinade. Sprinkle over any leftover herb leaves and drizzle with some good extra virgin olive oil.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Trying this tonight! With our little carnivores - including your God Daughter - it should go down a treat! Wish we had been in Hampton Court to buy the beef, but Pricey has found another extraordinary, non retail, source for great meat here in LA - similar to his funny Italian place - and has added this to his Saturday morning food adventures!

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak