Veal tartare with figs, hazelnuts and anchovy butter
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 60 minutes
These delicate, crispy sandwiches of veal tartare from Marianna Vitale make an excellent starter, as the creamy meat mix is punctuated with the sweet figs and crunch of the hazelnuts, and the anchovy butter adds a salty accompaniment.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Veal tartare
- 280g of veal tenderloin
- 10g of spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 10g of mayonnaise
- 10g of mustard
- 20g of dried figs, roughly chopped
- 20g of hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- olive oil to taste
- salt to taste
Anchovy butter
- 20g of anchovies, in oil (from Cetara)
- 50g of butter
- 10g of cream
To serve
- 250g of bread, preferably from a rustic Italian 'pane Cafone' loaf
- edible flowers, and shoots
- star anise, optional
- cocoa beans, optional
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Blender
- 5cm pastry cutter
Method
1
Start by removing the crusts from the loaf of bread so you have a solid block. Place in a sealed container and freeze for about 2 hours (this will help you to cut very thin slices to sandwich the tartare)
- 250g of bread, preferably from a rustic Italian 'pane Cafone' loaf
2
To make the tartare, finely dice the veal and place in a mixing bowl with the chopped spring onions, mayonnaise and mustard. Add the dried figs and hazelnuts to the bowl, gently mixing everything until combined and season to taste
- 10g of spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 10g of mayonnaise
- 10g of mustard
- 20g of dried figs
- 20g of hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- olive oil to taste
- salt to taste
3
For the anchovy butter, drain the anchovies from the oil and place in a blender with the butter. Blitz until smooth, then fold in the cream and set aside until ready to serve
- 20g of anchovies, in oil (from Cetara)
- 50g of butter
- 10g of cream
4
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
5
When the bread is nearly frozen but still soft enough to slice, cut with a breadknife into very thin slices, about 2mm thick. Using a 5cm cutter, cut out round discs from the bread; you will need about 16 total, but it’s good to have some spare
6
Place on a tray lined with baking paper then brush with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown
7
To serve, place a large spoonful of the tartare onto one of the bread discs and place sandwich with another disc on top. Repeat to make 8 sandwiches
8
Spread some of the anchovy butter onto each serving plate and top with the tartare sandwiches and some edible shoots and flowers. For an added flourish, grate a little star anise and cocoa bean over the the plate
- edible flowers, and shoots
- star anise, optional
- cocoa beans, optional
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