This isn’t quite the famed carpaccio from Harry’s Bar in Venice but something a little more robust. It is a perfect use for the fillet tail, usually much cheaper than a centre-cut piece of fillet. The celeriac remoulade provides some heft to the dish but also gives a creamy foil to the rare meat. We are pushing the seasonal envelope slightly with watercress in December, so swap for mustard leaves or mizuna if the cress is over.
You can either serve this as an elegant starter, individually plated, or use a big platter or wooden board for a sharing dish.
SERVES 8 AS A STARTER
For the beef
600g trimmed fillet tail
2 tbsp olive oil for frying
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the remoulade
750g whole celeriac
2 tsp Maldon sea salt
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp good olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice plus extra to taste
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
1 bunch of watercress, picked and washed
Parmesan shavings
extra virgin olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Season the fillet tails heavily with coarsely ground pepper and salt. Press in well by rolling the fillet on a tray to create a thin crust of seasoning. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and sear the beef to achieve a well-caramelized crust. Finish in the oven for a couple of minutes if necessary. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to rest.
3. Peel the celeriac and cut in half. Roughly square off the pieces and then slice into 2mm-thick slices. Cut the slices across to form matchsticks 2mm square at each end. In a bowl, mix the celeriac, salt and water. Leave to salt for an hour to soften the celeriac slightly. Rinse off and squeeze dry in a clean tea towel.
4. Mix the remaining ingredients together and add the celeriac, coating thoroughly. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and more mustard if desired.
5. To serve, slice the beef thinly, and lay a line of remoulade down the centre of each plate. Scatter some watercress over it and arrange the beef slices across the top. Finish with the Parmesan shavings and a drizzle of your best olive oil.