Expert: Jim Musumeci - 11/4/2009

Question
Hello Jim,
May I please ask for your expert advice again?
I recently read about an interesting dish called "carpaccio al forno" in a magazine article, and wondered if I could make it at home, thinking it would be a nice alternative to serving raw meat/fish to guests. I tried to find a recipe, but I could only find ones in Italian, and those web page translation tools gave me totally incomprehensible translations.
Do you know of any good recipes in English for "carpaccio al forno"?

Thank you and best regards,
Sari

Answer
Hi again Sari.  I'm not familiar with your article, but I know a little about your dish.  It is usually made from layers of thinly sliced beef, topped with mushrooms, grated cheese, olive oil and seasonings.  The key is to put the dish into a very hot oven (The Al Forno Part) for a few minutes to melt the cheese and slightly cook the beef. It melts in your mouth when done properly.
It is often served on a salad.  
 
I found a few recipes in Italian and obtained the translations, which my wife, who speaks some Italian, reviewed.  I changed wording to make sense out of the methods but tried to keep the local feel of the dish.  There are two recipes.  Magatello beef is the most select portion of the eye of round.  You could substitute thinly sliced steak also.

Carpaccio Al Forno

300 G Magatello Beef, thinly sliced
300g Cultivated Mushrooms
100 G Grana (Or Parmesan Cheese)
Olive oil
Salt - Pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees

Grease a baking sheet with oil and lay the slices of meat on the sheet. Clean the mushrooms, cut into thin strips, and distribute the meat. Add salt and pepper, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Put in hot oven for 5 minutes and serve.

Carpaccio Al Forno II

400 g Thin slices of beef
50 g Grana (Or Parmesan Cheese)
200 g Cultivated mushrooms
100 g Treviso Salad
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt,Pepper

Turn the oven to 230 degrees (450 degrees F). Grease a pan with 2 tablespoons of the oil and arrange the meat slices, slightly overlapping each other. Distribute the salad over the , meat Then cover with a thin layer of mushrooms, cut into thin slices. Cover with parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the remaining oil and place in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Let me know how this turns out Sari.  Write again.

Jim "JimmyScones" Musumeci