Beef battuta

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Beef tartare is traditionally a French dish, but battuta – the Italian version – is arguably superior. Finely chopped raw beef is served with crisp leaves, salty anchovies, pickled mushrooms and a verdant herb oil, before being adorned with seriously luxurious white truffle.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

herb oil

  • 150ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • 100g of parsley, basil and chives, mixed together

to serve

Method

1
Begin by making the herb oil. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the herbs, blanching then for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to iced water to cool, then squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible. Transfer to a blender
  • 100g of parsley, basil and chives, mixed together
2
Add the oil to the blender and blitz until smooth (take care not to leave it running for too long, otherwise it will begin to heat up). Transfer to a squeezy bottle until ready to plate
  • 150ml of extra virgin olive oil
3
Take the chicory and baby gem leaves and place them in a bowl of iced water to crisp up while you make the beef tartare
4
Dice the beef into 0.5cm cubes, then place in a bowl and season with plenty of salt, pepper, olive oil and the grape must
5
To serve, divide the beef mixture between 4 plates. Drain the salad leaves on kitchen paper, then arrange them around the meat. Drape anchovy fillets and pickled mushrooms around the plate, the drizzle with the herb oil and a few drops of mosto cotto. Garnish with chervil leaves and shaved white truffle (if using) to finish

Francesco Mazzei reminds us why we fell in love with Italian food in the first place, conjuring soulful dishes that put flavour first.

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