Dexter Beef Carpaccio

StarterServes 4

With the days lengthening and spring on its way, it’s time to emerge from a haze of winter warming stews and try something a bit lighter.  Norman Mackenzie, Head Chef at the newly renamed The Weathervane restaurant at the Feversham Arms in Helmsley, is always keen to get out and forage for some delicious ingredients to serve up in the 2 AA Rosette rated restaurant in the heart of the North York Moors. His recipe for Dexter Beef Carpaccio may take a minute or two to plate up but promises to pack a punch of seasonal flavour.

Ingredients

For the Beef Carpaccio:

400 g centre cut fillet of Dexter beef

15 g (1 tbsp) espelette (basque) pepper

5 g (1 tsp) sel rose

200 g black mustard leaf (chopped)

For the Beer Soaked Shallots:

1 shallot (peeled and sliced into ½ cm rings)

100 ml Howardian Gold beer

For the Nettle Fluid Gel:

2 handfuls of young nettle tops

450 g vegetable stock

2 gelatine leaves

For the Pickled Thistle:

12 thistle heads (peeled and choke removed)

200 ml pickling liquor

For the Wood Sorrel:

100 g wood sorrel

Method

  1. For the Beef Carpaccio: Trim any excess fat and sinew from the fillet.
  2. Roll in the espelette pepper then leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
  3. Remove from the fridge and season with the sel rose.
  4. Place a frying pan on a high heat, add 1 tbsp of oil into the pan and seal the fillet until golden brown all over.
  5. Remove from the pan and roll in chopped black mustard leaf.  Wrap tightly in cling film and place in the fridge.
  6. For the Marinated Beer Shallots: For this recipe you only need the larger outer rings.  Soak these in the beer for 1 hour.
  7. For the Nettle Fluid Gel: Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 15 minutes.
  8. Bring the stock to the boil, add the young nettle tops and then blend. Pass through muslin and season.
  9. Add the soaked gelatine to the warm stock and wait until they have dissolved.
  10. Place in the fridge to set.  Once set, remove from the fridge and place in a blender until it reaches the consistency of a smooth fluid gel.
  11. For the Pickled Thistle: Thinly slice and soak in the pickling liquor until ready to serve.
  12. To Serve: Thinly slice the fillet, and then place the carpaccio in a line on the plate.
  13. Dot the nettle fluid gel around the plate. Scatter the wood sorrel on top of the beef.
  14. Remove the shallot rings from the beer and place 4 or 5 of these on top of the carpaccio.
  15. Remove the thistle from the pickling liquor and place these on top of the carpaccio.
 Top Tip: All elements of this dish can be made a few days in advance and saved until you are ready to eat it.