Blood Lust

I had strange tastes as a kid. One of my parents’ earliest photographs of me shows me sharing food with the dog — not my food, the dog’s food. When I got a bit older I loved cornichons, smoked oysters, sardines, sharp cheeses — and raw beef.

I’m sure I never did it, but I have a mental picture of myself at 10, hiding in the barn having a private picnic of cornichons, oysters, sardines, cocktail rye, cheese, and steak tartar. Like I said, strange tastes.

There has always been some risk of bacterial contamination in completely raw meat. Over the years, as more of our meat has come from huge processing plants, the odds

My favorite animal is steak. ~ Fran Lebowitz

of contamination have risen significantly. This isn’t a significant issue with rare steaks and roasts — provided the exterior has been cooked to more than 155F (68C) — because the most common bacteria don’t live in the meat itself, but instead are found on the surface. However, ground beef is effectively all exterior because the grinding process mixes it together.

Because of the possibility of food poisoning, I quit eating raw ground beef years ago. And oddly, I prefer steaks and roasts medium rare. I think really raw meat tastes best cold. Despite the risk, though, sometimes the blood lust overcomes my sense of caution. And when it does I turn to an Italian favorite: Carpaccio.

Carpaccio is made of raw beef and dressed with lemony mayonnaise. It was created in Harry’s Bar in Venice, which, despite the name, is actually an expensive restaurant founded by an Italian named Giuseppe Cipriani in 1931. The story of carpaccio’s invention is that an Italian contessa was on a diet that prohibited cooked meat and the dish was made for her. However, it was named for the Italian painter Vittore Carpaccio, who was famous for using deep reds in his paintings.

(Apparently Cipriani was fond of painters. The famous drink made of white peach juice and prosecco, also from Harry’s Bar, is named Bellini after Giovanni Bellini, a 15th century painter.)

Whatever the truth of the tale, Carpaccio is great summer meal, particularly when paired with baby potatoes. I had it for dinner last night and, because I didn’t feel like making mayonnaise, dressed it with balsamic vinaigrette.

Carpaccio

1 1/2 lb steak (top sirloin, tenderloin, shell steak) — partially frozen
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 c baby arugula leaves
2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano (or other hard Italian cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together mustard, vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper.
Slice the steak as thin as possible (this is much easier if it’s partially frozen or use an electric knife). Arrange on four plates and lightly season with a good finishing salt such as Sel de Mer and freshly cracked black pepper. Garnish with arugula and shavings of Parmigiano. Sprinkle with vinaigrette (use dressing sparingly so as not to overwhelm the beef flavor).

Use the best beef and other ingredients you have available, the quality of the components makes a huge difference in such a simple dish. To accompany this I cooked baby potatoes from the farmers’ market and dressed them with olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and shredded Parmigiano.

Technorati: Food | recipe | carpaccio | beef | italian | main dish

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