The legendary Venetian Harry’s Bar gave us not only the famous Bellini cocktail, which the whole world fell in love with, but also one of the dishes that immediately comes to mind when we think about Italian cuisine. Giuseppe Cipriani, restaurateur and bartender who opened Harry’s Bar in 1931, created a carpaccio for a countess who was a regular client at Harry’s Bar. The doctor ordered her to eat raw meat. The dish that Giuseppe invented turned out to be incredibly tasty and quickly became popular not only in Italy, but all over the world.
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 5 minutes
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: appetizer
- Cookware: meat tenderizer
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 400 g veal fillet
- 40 g parmesan, grated
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 60 g mixed salad
- 40 g rocket
- 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
- 2 tsp mustard
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- balsamic cream
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Cut 16 sheets of parchment paper approximately the same size. Take out the meat from the refrigerator. Cut into 8 pieces, each about 50g. Whisk 3 tbsp olive oil with mustard until smooth. Grease a sheet of parchment with the mixture. Top with a slice of veal and brush with the mustard mixture. Cover with another sheet of parchment. Bash the meat with flat-faced round meat tenderizer to flatten it, moving from the centre to the edges, to preserve the structure of the meat and not break it during the bashing process. Then roll the meat with a wooden rolling pin several times, evenly distributing the sauce, until the meat is equally thin over the entire surface. Repeat the process for each piece of meat.
Step 2
2 options for serving carpaccio.
Option 1. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Pour balsamic cream on a large plate. Top with mixed salad. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a plate. Then lay out one piece of meat, carefully separating it from the parchment paper. Drizzle with a mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add rocket leaves and parmesan, sliced or coarsely grated. Place lemon wedges next to it. Serve immediately. Squeeze the lemon juice over the meat.
Option 2. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Pour balsamic cream onto a large plate. Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment paper from each piece of meat. Drizzle over the meat with the mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add rocket leaves and gently roll each piece of meat. Place the meat on a plate. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a plate with the mixed salad. Place lemon wedges next to it. Serve immediately. Squeeze the lemon juice over the meat.
My tips and tricks:
If you want to make an unusual version of carpaccio, you can fry the fillet for 1 minute on each side. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Then cut the meat as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Lay each slice on a wooden board and flatten as much as you can by pressing down on them with the flat side of a knife, the movements should be like spreading butter on bread. You no longer need to bash such meat to flatten it, and you can immediately proceed to the second step.
- 400 g veal fillet
- 40 g parmesan, grated
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 60 g mixed salad
- 40 g rocket
- 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
- 2 tsp mustard
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- balsamic cream
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt
- Cut 16 sheets of parchment paper approximately the same size. Take out the meat from the refrigerator. Cut into 8 pieces, each about 50g. Whisk 3 tbsp olive oil with mustard until smooth. Grease a sheet of parchment with the mixture. Top with a slice of veal and brush with the mustard mixture. Cover with another sheet of parchment. Bash the meat with flat-faced round meat tenderizer to flatten it, moving from the centre to the edges, to preserve the structure of the meat and not break it during the bashing process. Then roll the meat with a wooden rolling pin several times, evenly distributing the sauce, until the meat is equally thin over the entire surface. Repeat the process for each piece of meat.
- options for serving carpaccio. Option 1. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Pour balsamic cream on a large plate. Top with mixed salad. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a plate. Then lay out one piece of meat, carefully separating it from the parchment paper. Drizzle with a mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add rocket leaves and parmesan, sliced or coarsely grated. Place lemon wedges next to it. Serve immediately. Squeeze the lemon juice over the meat.
- Option 2. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Pour balsamic cream onto a large plate. Carefully peel off the top layer of parchment paper from each piece of meat. Drizzle over the meat with the mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add rocket leaves and gently roll each piece of meat. Place the meat on a plate. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place on a plate with the mixed salad. Place lemon wedges next to it. Serve immediately. Squeeze the lemon juice over the meat.