What is carpaccio?
Or raw meat!

Italian cuisine has become famous because all the dishes are very simple to cook. But this simplicity does not interfere with the taste. Simple and tasty – the motto of every Italian dish. And one of the simplest is carpaccio.

What is carpaccio?

Carpaccio is a cold snack made from thinly sliced ​​raw meat, with the addition of olive oil, lemon juice, and capers. A dish of raw meat began its history in Venice, when a chef, Giuseppe Cipriani invented it for his beloved. The girl was forbidden to eat boiled meat, so Giuseppe was not taken aback and invented an amazing snack.

But the name of the dish Carpaccio was invented not in honor of the girl, but in honor of the artist Vittore Carpaccio, the exhibition of whom was then held nearby. The look of raw veal resembled the colors of the artist’s paintings so much that the name for the dish arose by itself.

Chef Giuseppe decided to offer to his restaurant carpaccio, and visitors liked it so much that it remained on the table for many years.

History is history, but the dish carpaccio is still popular not only in Italy. Now there are many variations of cooking carpaccio: classic veal, salmon, chicken, even vegetables or fruits.

Veal Carpaccio

This is a classic recipe for a snack, which has not changed much over the years. This is a popular cold dish, which is a starter in the winter. And in summer, when you do not really want to eat hot, veal carpaccio is served instead of the main course.

Main ingredients for the dish:

• veal or beef
• hard cheese, preferably Parmesan, because it gives a spicy taste
• arugula
• lemon juice
• spice

The main requirement for meat is freshness. In no case veal should be frozen. In principle, this rule applies to all Italian cuisine, because for them freshness always comes first. In an Italian restaurant, you will never be served yesterday’s dish.

At Mercato Italiano, you can taste the tender veal carpaccio with pecorino and Porto sauce.

Chicken Carpaccio

Despite the popularity of beef in Italian recipes, chicken now occupies an equally important place. The main advantage of chicken meat is its price. After all, chicken is much more economical than veal or beef.

Chicken carpaccio is prepared in two versions:

• from raw meat, which is closer to the classics
• from cooked meat for those, who cannot eat raw

Chicken carpaccio recipe has no difference with the classic veal, except for the choice of meat. Chicken meat is more difficult to cut into thin slices, so it is pre-frozen a little.

Marinade prepared from the same ingredients:

• olive oil
• lemon juice
• spice

If there is prepared chicken carpaccio, the recipe is a little more difficult, because the meat needs to be cooked properly. Chicken breast is boiled with celery, carrots, and onions, adding white wine and thyme. Such carpaccio is more secure, but only vaguely reminiscent of a classic recipe.

Salmon Carpaccio

For those who do not want to eat meat at all, there was invented carpaccio with fish, namely salmon. This option is incredibly tasty, but also useful. But to choose quality and good fish is very difficult. First, fresh fish does not have an unpleasant smell. Secondly, there are no bruises on the scales. And, thirdly, the color of the meat itself is pale pink or orange, without gray.

Salmon carpaccio is served with Citronette sauce, which is made from the same ingredients as regular carpaccio. But add also orange juice, honey, and basil.

Our restaurant offers its visitors classic salmon carpaccio, which will not leave anyone indifferent.

Tartar

This is a kind of interpretation of carpaccio, though not from Italy. Tartar is a raw minced meat dish that must be cooked by hand, not in a meat grinder. It like carpaccio, according to the classic recipe is made from beef or veal but can be made from chicken or fish. Capers, olive oil and lemon juice are also added to tartar.

Despite the fact that tartar is a kind of carpaccio, it was not invented in Italy. In Europe, this recipe came from the Mongol-Tatars. Argued that they simply did not have the opportunity to cook the meat during the campaign, so they ate raw in chopped form. No one knows how true it was, but the dish had become quite popular throughout Europe.

For example, our restaurant Mercato Italiano has salmon tartare, tuna tartare and classic veal tartare.

Is it possible to eat raw meat?

With proper cooking, you even need it! After all, carpaccio is a very useful product. Per 100 g of the product is obtained 150 kcal. Due to the fact that the meat does not undergo heat treatment, all of its useful trace elements and vitamins remain in it. Carpaccio is a healthy dish for athletes, because of 100 g of the product, 78% are proteins.

In raw meat a large amount of iron and potassium, which not only improves blood flow but also normalizes the heart.

So, carpaccio and tartar are not only tasty but also useful!