That being said, Carpaccio is something that we did not experience while we were there. It is something that I've seen done many times, but never had. Until recently. Granted, it's hard to know if you're successful when you've never tried something from a professional kitchen, but I had to experiment. I've never had great salmon in a restaurant, but I've grown to love it from my own. That's another post altogether.
All of that said, allow me to bring you my latest kitchen adventure with Beef Carpaccio. It turned out fantastic, and I'm excited to try it again sometime.
You're going to need a nice cut of beef tenderloin. The size is up to you, and really depends on how many people you'll be serving. My wife wasn't interesting in eating (mostly) raw beef, so I was a loner on this one. One small cut was perfect.
Also grab some fresh green beans. It's summer and I love going down to our local Farmer's Market, and grabbing some of the veggies that have been delivered straight from the farms in the Lower Valley into downtown Yakima for this weekly event. Green Beans are some of my favorite summer veggies, and especially when it comes to a nice cut of beef. They just work. Most of the time I simply sauté them in some butter and garlic, but this time I decided to try something a little bit different. I had seen a recipe for pickled green beans, and decided it seemed like a good plan. My buddy Mark cans some incredible pickled green beans each summer, so a quick pickle seemed good.
The other addition that comes from our awesome Farmer's Market, are the oyster mushrooms. Carpaccio, because the meat is mainly raw, just has something old world to it. It's reminiscent of prosciutto, just a bit more thick. Oyster mushrooms add an earthiness to it, that mix with the rustic flavor of the beef in amazing way. The acidity that you will add with the green beans will tie it all together like when you were a kid and someone gave you a remote control car and DIDN'T forget the batteries. You need the batteries!
Okay, let's start putting it all together. We're gonna start with the green beans so that they can spend as much time soaking up the flavor as possible. I used about one pound for this recipe.
First of all, put some water on to boil with some salt. While that comes to a boil, you can start cutting the ends off the green beans. Cut them to the size you like, I prefer to keep them whole (minus the ends of course).
While the water is still boiling, you can cut up your herbs. I used about 1/4 cup of soft celery leaves (from the inside of the bunch) and 1/4 cup of Italian parsley. Chop the herbs pretty fine, place to the side.
Once you've got the water boiling and green beans cut to size, throw them in the water for about 7 minutes. Then drain them well, but don't cool them down with hot water. The heat from the beans is going to draw in the vinaigrette we're about to make.
Speaking of vinaigrette. You're going to use 1 diced shallot, 1 diced clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard, 4 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all up!
Here's a quick word about shallots. I'm amazed at how many of my friends have not tried, or at least do not remember trying shallots. They are incredible! Especially in a vinaigrette like this one. I love shallots with white wine, dijon, lemon juice... So good! And the shallots themselves, are best described as what would happen if a red onion fell in love with a clove of garlic, got married, and had a baby. The child would be an honor student in every class, graduate early, and go on to be a doctor. That kind of perfection doesn't come along every day.
Okay, that's enough of my rant about shallots. Go buy some.
Place your beans in a serving bowl, and mix well with the herbs. Then pour your vinaigrette over the top and combine very well. Throw it in the fridge, and let it do it's thing!
Alright, time to get started on the beef. Gird up your tenderloin and let's do this.
First of all, you can do this with fresh, basic thyme, but if you have access to lemon thyme, DO THAT. I grow it in my herb garden, and I've been tempted to overuse it and put it in everything. I used it on this recipe, but my other favorite uses have been in wild rice, and in fresh pasta dough. I love fresh herbs, but there is something about the fragrance of this one that is just killer. Who knew you could get such a pungent blast of lemon from such a tiny leaf.
Chop up a good tablespoon or so of the thyme. It's a pain to work with, but it will be worth it. Once you've got that chopped up and ready to go, salt and pepper the tenderloin, and then coat it well with the thyme. Really get it on there, cause you don't want it falling off before you sear it.
Speaking of searing, get your pan ready with a splash of canola oil. I used my cast iron skillet, cause... well, I like it. And cast iron sears quite nicely. Because it gets so dang hot so fast, I only set the heat to medium high (maybe a little less).
Here's the deal, when you're ready, you're gonna sear that thing FAST. We're talking one minute, and NO MORE. That means you're gonna do a lot of flipping in 60 seconds. So when the oil is hot, lay that beef on the pan, and flip it every 15 seconds or so. Devote the majority of the time to the flat surface of the tenderloin, but don't miss the sides. You want a quick sear everywhere. And then you're done. Let it rest for a few minutes to seal in those juices, and then we're gonna slice it up.
While the beef is resting, you can thickly slice your oyster mushrooms, and get ready to crisp-ify them. You can turn the heat down to a little past medium, and if you've still got a nice coat of oil in the pan, just use that. Throw in your mushrooms, toss them around to coat them in the oil, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper over them. The salt is going to draw out the moisture, and help you get them crispy. From there, just toss them around for a few minutes until you start to see them sweat down. Once they are at the point of where they look edible, turn off the heat and leave them alone until you're ready to eat them. This is going to get the bottoms nice and crispy and crunchy.
Okay, time to slice the beef. Put it on your cutting board, and slice it as thin as you can. This doesn't have to be perfect, because there is one more step. Once it is all sliced up, take your chef knife and lay the flat blade against one of the slices. Put some pressure on it, and slide it across the surface of the slice of beef, flattening it out. You'll get the hang of it quickly, as this is NOT hard to do. You can see what it looks like in the picture.
Once you've got all your slices flattened out, nice and thin, it's time to put this thing together. Place the beef on a plate, slightly overlapping the slices to create a platform for the rest of the components. Then sprinkle the beef with some fresh Asiago or Parmesan or Pecorino. I used Asiago and it was great! Not too much though, because you don't want any one flavor to overpower the others, and when you start adding smelly cheese, that's always a possibility.
Then take your pickled green beans, and lay some of those on next. On top of the green beans, add your crispy oyster mushrooms. From there, find a quiet spot where you can enjoy your creation without interruption. Also, preferably a place where you can make the somewhat obnoxious groans of satisfaction without fear of embarrassment. Think "What About Bob."
And that's it. You've got Beef Carpaccio. I'd love to know what you think!
Because Eating Good Is A Calling Of It's Own,
The Fat Pastor
BEEF CARPACCIO WITH LEMON THYME, CRISPY OYSTER MUSHROOMS & PICKLED GREEN BEANS
Ingredients:
For The Carpaccio:
1 Beef Tenderloin Filet
2 Tbl. Chopped fresh Lemon Thyme
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Splash of Canola Oil
Asiago Cheese To Taste
3-4 oz. Fresh Oyster Mushrooms
For The Pickled Green Beans:
1 Lb. Fresh Green Beans, ends chopped
1/4 cup Celery Leaves, chopped
1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
1 Shallot, diced
1 Garlic Clove, diced
3 Tbl. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 Tsp. Dijon Mustard
4 Tbl. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Directions:
Boil some water on the stove with some salt. Boil the green beans for about 5 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Drain and set to the side.
Combine the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and pour over the green beans. Stir together, and check for seasoning. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Season the beef filet with salt and pepper, and then rub the lemon thyme into the beef, making sure it sticks well. Heat a pan over medium high with a splash of canola oil. When hot, sear the beef on all sides, for 1 minute TOTAL. Remove heat, and allow to rest. Reduce heat to medium.
Thickly slice the mushrooms, and add to the pan. Stir to coat with oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss for a few minutes, until they have sweated down, and then turn off the heat. Leave alone until ready to use.
Slice your beef very thinly. Then take your chef knife, lay the flat edge against each slice, and press down and across, flattening the slice.
Compile the dish by arranging the slices of beef on the plate, adding some shredded Asiago, then the pickled green beans, and the crispy oyster mushrooms. Serve and enjoy!
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