Porcini Carpaccio Recipes

Steps:

• Using a mandoline slicer or very sharp knife, slice the mushrooms as thinly as possible and arrange them in a single layer on a large serving platter. Scatter the arugula evenly over the top.
• Just before serving, squeeze the juice of the lemon over the arugula and very lightly drizzle with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and using a vegetable peeler, shave thin strips of Parmesan evenly over the top. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Arrange the mushroom slices on a large platter. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and add lemon juice to taste. Top with a light coating of shaved Parmesan.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put a 1/4-inch layer of salt in the bottom of a small baking dish. Place the beets on top of the salt, making sure they are not touching each other. Cover the beets with the remaining salt (save some for seasoning) and bake until fork-tender, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Remove the beets from the salt and let cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, make the dressing: Puree the goat cheese, creme fraiche, olive oil, vinegar and shallot in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the sage leaves and fry until crisp, 5 to 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; season lightly with salt.
• Peel the beets (the skins will slip right off) and slice into thin rounds using a mandoline or sharp knife. Divide the beet slices among plates. Spoon some of the goat cheese dressing on top. Put the arugula in a bowl, drizzle with the lemon juice and olive oil, season with salt and toss. Add the arugula salad to the plates; drizzle with more goat cheese dressing, if desired. Top with the pine nuts and fried sage.

Steps:

• Slice the red onion paper thin and soak in ice water until ready to use.
• Slice the kumquat and orange about 3 centimeters thick; arrange on 4 serving plates.
• Make the cilantro vinaigrette: Puree some cilantro (with stems) in a blender with the neutral oil. Add the lime juice and sugar; blend until emulsified. Add salt to taste.
• Pound the pistachios in a mortar and pestle along some cilantro leaves and the cumin and oregano until coarsely ground. Sprinkle the mixture over the citrus slices.
• Drain the red onions, pat dry and scatter over the citrus.
• Seed the chiles and puree them in a blender with the olive oil until smooth.
• Drizzle each plate with the chile oil and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Steps:

• Tie the beef tenderloin with kitchen twine to help maintain its shape, then freeze the tenderloin until frozen (this ensures that the center stays rare when cooking a small piece of meat). Then, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy small skillet over high heat. Rub the frozen beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the hot skillet and sear on all sides, about 4 minutes total (the beef will be just barely seared on the outside but will remain rare). Freeze the beef until it is almost frozen, about 1 hour (this makes it easier to cut into very thin slices). Using a large sharp carving knife, slice the beef as thinly as possible. Arrange the arugula and Parmesan shavings on a serving platter and lay the beef slices on top. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.
• Alternative: Use 6 ounces of thinly-sliced bresaola instead of the tenderloin. Do not cook the bresaola. Serve it as you would the tenderloin, above.

Steps:

• Using a sharp vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini lengthwise, creating very thin slices. Discard the first slice that is very dark green skin. Arrange the slices on a platter, overlapping the slices.
• In a small jar or bowl, place the lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and shake well or whisk to blend. Pour the mixture evenly over the zucchini slices. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes, or for up to an hour.
• Use vegetable peeler to shave thin slices of Parmesan over the zucchini, and serve with baguette slices.

Steps:

• Slice mushrooms lengthwise as thinly as possible with slicer.
• Spread mushrooms out on a large platter and drizzle with lemon juice. Using a vegetable peeler, shave some of Pecorino Toscano over top. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with celery leaves.
• Fontaleoni Vernaccia di San Gimignano '07