Tonight was an experiment goaded on by Mrs. MC. We are working really hard at not eating out so we can save money and therefore we are expanding our palate and the offerings around the table. So the Mrs. made a menu for this week and we spent yesterday tracking down the fine ingredients. Can you believe that no one in the south west part of Denver had Creme Fraiche? At least Sunflower and Safeway didn't we had to make a special trip to Wild Oats to get it. Anyway, I digress. Tonight we attempted a stab at Beef Carpaccio as directly by the often unintelligible (unless one has spent time in the U.K.- I understand him just fine) Jamie Oliver. Here is his recipe.
1 1/2 pounds of Baby Beet roots (I bought small ones and only used about 1/2 pound for us)
Olive Oil
Aprox 10 Tbls Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper (you better be using kosher and fresh ground or you are hereby banned from this blog)
1 Hand full of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 1/2 pound fillet of beef (we used london broil- It was a little tough but manageable about 2 lbs worth)
3 1/2 ounces of freshly grated or creamed horseradish (we did about 2 teaspoons)
7 ounces creme fraiche (this is like sour creme but much more delicate, you could use yogurt or sour creme but it is worth the hassle and cost to get the good stuff)
1 Lemon juiced or white wine vinegar
3 good handfuls of watercress (we used one bunch)
3 1/2 ounces shaved parmesan
Here is how we cooked it. Very similar to his recipe but we cooked the meat longer- Actually we had to cut it in half horizontally and cook it as it was too thick to cook enough without burning the outside. Scrub and dice the beet roots, wrap them in foil with the balsamic vinegar and some olive oil and salt and bake at 450 until tender. I waited until I could smell them. They were tender. While those cook generously, salt and pepper the beef. I also used some garlic granules and omitted the rosemary. I was out of fresh Rosemary and don't like frying meat with dried, it just burns and tastes nasty. Cook the meat on each side until it is done to your liking. I cooked it longer since Mrs. MC likes her meat well done. When the meat is done, let it rest 5 minutes, don't skip this or you will get dry meat. While the meat rests mix the Horseradish with the creme fraiche and mix the watercress with some lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. I also added half of the lemon to the creme fraiche mix and added some salt and garlic granules to that. Once the beef has rested, slice it into thin ribbons (you should have a beautifully dark outside with a nice pink center) and lay them around a serving dish. Then sprinkle the cooked beets about the beef. Then drizzle the horseradish sauce all around and finally top with the watercress.
This was so simple and amazing. At first I was leery not being a huge fan of horseradish. The watercress was bitter alone and so I wasn't too confident in this dish but when all the flavors come together. It is amazing. Our favorite graphic designer even agrees. He tried a wee bit that was cold and liked it. So give it a shot. It is worth it I swear.
