A few days ago, I drove home from work and thought about what to cook for dinner. Beef carpaccio came to my mind but unfortunately, the butcher in my neighborhood closes early so there was no chance I could get any fresh meat at such late hour. Hm!
I tried to think of something different but the idea of ‘carpaccio’ staid a fix idea.
When I came home, I looked into the fridge and discovered fresh fennel. Also, I had some green tomatoes, garlic as well as some great 12-years old balsamic vinegar syrup and parmesan. Perfect! All there to make a nice fennel carpaccio!
For two servings:
- 1 fennel – cleaned, cut in thin slices (lengthwise)
- 100 green tomatoes – cut in slices
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil –extra virgin
- 1 shallot – cleaned, finely sliced lenghtwise
- 1 lemon – 1/2 juice & fresh zest, 1/2 sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves – peeled and sliced
- 25 ml dry white wine (optional) or stock (veggie or chicken)
- 50 gr parmesan – finely trimmed
- 5-7 leaves fresh sage
- salt & pepper – freshly grounded
1// Preheat a pan over high heat and place the olive oil inside. Cook the shallot until soft, then add the fennel together with the tomatoes, lemon slices and the sage leaves. Cook the vegetables quickly on each side until it turnes golden brown. Take out the crisp sage leaves and put them aside.
2// Add the garlic for a few seconds and deglaze with white wine or stock as well as the lemon juice. Turn down the heat and let the roasted veggetables simmer in the pan for about another minute.
3// Spread the fennel carpaccio together with the roasted vegetables broadly on each plate, drizzle with fresh olive oil, 12-years old balsamic vinegar sirup and trimm thin parmesan slices over the carpaccio. Top with freshly grounded salt and pepper and the crisp sage leaves.
Serve with fresh Italian white bread to absorb the fine vinaigrette. This fennel carpaccio is a lovely quick dinner on a week night – or an easy starter if you plan on more…
SMALL KITCHEN . FAB CREATIONS 