Summer is officially over since last Friday, but not for many ingredients at the market...
One dish I had not tried to tackle yet, key word yet- seafood carpaccio. We love the beef version, and have had venison in Italy, but for some reason I have not tried fish version at home. Because it's really easy to make!
I infused 1 and 1/2 cups olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter with (1) lemon grass (cleaned and beaten with mallet), sprigs of cilantro, 2 cloves garlic (mash with mallet), tablespoon sea salt and squeeze of half lemon- after heating it to about one hundred and eighty degrees (check with candy thermometer, or butter will burn). Put aside and let the ingredients do their thing. Strain and use as you see fit.
Rub this mixture into the chilled plates. Then cover with the very finely sliced raw monk fish and hake filet and sprinkle the fish with the remaining infused olive oil mixture. Make enough to drizzle on salad mixture as well.
I sliced heirloom tomatoes and artichokes into thin slices as well, placing them on top of fresh mache salad. Place the carpaccio around edges and serve as an appetizer. We were almost too full for the main course, and thought it would be a great entertaining dish for next time.
Place medium pieces of sliced fish in between plastic wrap and gently pound with a mallet. Don't worry if the pieces do not come out perfectly round, and the tenderloin area of the fish is especially fragile. The monk fish worked best, but the hake had the best flavor to me.
Enjoy! and serve with a Gruner Veltliner, or an un-oaked Chardonnay to compliment the texture and acidity of the fish.
