Carpaccio with shaved vegetables and salsa verde

This carpaccio is inspired by the gorgeous meats and produce available from the iconic Adelaide Central Markets. Make your own salsa verde for an elegant and flavoursome foil to the rich eye fillet.

Credit: Chris Chen

• serves

  4

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g piece beef eye fillet (see Note)
• ½ celery heart (see Note)
• 2 witlof (Belgian endive), trimmed, halved lengthwise
• 1 bunch baby asparagus, trimmed
• 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, halved lengthwise
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil

Salsa verde

• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• 65 g (⅓ cup) salted capers, rinsed, drained
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 hard-boiled egg yolk, chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ onion, finely chopped
• 5 anchovy fillets in oil, drained, chopped
• 250 ml (1 cup) extra virgin olive oil

Chilling time 30 minutes

Instructions

To make salsa verde, place all ingredients in a food processor, then pulse to a coarse purée; the salsa verde should still have some texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Place beef in freezer for 30 minutes to firm. Using a sharp knife, trim excess fat and silver membrane from beef, taking care to remove it all. Using a very sharp knife, cut beef into 2 mm-thick slices. Using the heel of your palm, flatten out slices to about 1 mm-thick, then divide among plates, overlapping slightly.

Very thinly slice celery heart (including leaves), witlof and asparagus lengthwise on the diagonal to form long, thin slices. Very thinly slice fennel widthwise then combine with other shredded vegetables in a large bowl. Add lemon juice and olive oil, then season and toss to combine.

Spoon some salsa verde over beef slices, divide shaved vegetable salad among plates, season and serve. Leftover salsa verde will keep refrigerated in a sterilised jar (see Note), with a thin layer of oil poured over the top, for up to 5 days.

Note
• When making carpaccio, it is important that the meat you use is very fresh. Buy good-quality meat from a butcher who understands how it will be consumed.

• To obtain the heart from a bunch of celery, remove dark outer stalks (reserving for another use) until you reach the aple, string-free inner stalks with leaves.

• It is essential to sterilise jars before filling them to prevent bacteria from forming. You can reuse any glass jar as long as the lid seals well. To sterilise jars, bottles and metal spoons in the oven, preheat oven to 120°C. Wash items in soapy water, rinse, then dry. Place equipment (including non-plastic lids) on an oven tray and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and fill jars while still hot. To sterilise jars, bottles, containers and metal spoons in the dishwaters, wash on the hottest cycle. Dry, and fill jars, bottles and containers while still hot.

Photography Chris Chen. Food preparation Leanne Kitchen. Styling Kristen Wilson.

As seen in Feast magazine, October 2014, Issue 36.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.