Beef tartare with avocado, valerian salad, Pecorino cheese crisp and balsamic vinegar cream

• 30 minutes to freeze • 10 minutes to prepare • Serves 4

 

 

10 MINUTES 

Tartare is one of those dishes you either love or hate completely. There’s really no in-between.
It’s essentially chopped raw beef, which is something that everybody has very strong opinions about.

But what if you want tartare with some extra taste, and no guiltiness feeling?
You crave the fanciness of high-quality chopped ingredients without worrying about calories.
I’m here to tell you that tartare doesn’t always have to be luxurious, to be flavorful.

Everybody has to try tartare with valerian salad, avocado and Pecorino crisp: raw meat lends a sweetness, and buttery avocado adds the richness that more caloric tartares may have. Finally, the Pecorino cheese crisp is all the umami you need to be happy.
I got inspired by this burger recipe by Pinguino in cucina, where I replaced spinach with valerian salad, I added balsamic vinegar cream, for some sourness, and... I removed the burger for dieting, ha ha!

While it’s not traditional by any means, beef and avocado tartare is an incredible and healthy alternative to traditional tartare, and it’s so simple to make. Enjoy!

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

 

800 g  beef, eye of round, or other
40 g grated Pecorino cheese
1 ripe avocado
200 g valerian salad
EVO oil
balsamic vinegar cream
salt and pepper
butter

 

1. Place beef in the freezer to firm slightly. You want the surface to be frozen and the inside to be chilled (this should take about 30 minutes
2. Hand-cut beef into sheets, then strips, then chopped cubes about half centimeter per side
3. Prepare the tartare: place the beef in a large bowl, then add 4 tablespoons of EVO oil, salt and pepper. Stir gently to mix
4. Peel the avocado and cut it into cubes. Keep aside
5. Preheat oven to 200°C 
6. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and grease it with butter. Do not skip this step if you want crisps to detach easily when ready 
7. Arrange one tablespoon of cheese in a round shape, making sure not to leave empty spots. The surface should be homogeneous or crisps may break 
8. Proceed in the same way until you create 4 lollipops.
9. Bake at 200°C for 5 minutes until the cheese becomes golden and small bubbles form on the surface 
10. Remove the baking tray from the oven and do not touch crisps until they are cold and compact. Only then gently detach crisps from the baking paper
11. Place some valerian salad on each plate, then arrange some avocado on top. Season with EVO oil, salt and balsamic vinegar cream
12. Finally, place a ring mold on each plate. Place beef in the ring old and pat it down gently with the bottom of a spoon to create a flat surface, so when the ring mold is removed the tartare remains in a cylindrical shape
13. Remove ring mold and top the tartare with 1 Pecorino crisp 

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.