Beef Carpaccio

Photo: flickr user Nikchick

Ingredients

1 pound Beef sirloin trimmed of all

fat and sinew

cup Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

8 lrgs Shallots finely diced

1 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Cracked black peppercorns plus

1 teaspoon Cracked black peppercorns

Julienned Parmesan cheese for garnish

Chopped fresh chives for garnish

Preparation

Chill 8 serving plates. Place meat in freezer about 10 minutes.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and reserve.

Slice cold beef across grain into 1/8-inch slices. Then place each slice, one at a time, between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and, using the smooth side of a meat pounder, flatten by gently pounding and pressing back and forth. Work from center out. Keep turning to flatten it evenly to about 1/16-inch. (You should spend about a minute on each slice.)

Entirely cover each chilled plate with thin slices of beef. (At this stage, you can cover with plastic wrap and reserve in refrigerator for several hours.) Carefully spoon reserved dressing over meat to evenly cover. Garnish with Parmesan strips and chives, and serve immediately.

This recipe yields 8 servings.