Raw power

ONE of the great things about teaching at the Cook School is giving people the chance to taste something that they may not normally try – taking them out of their comfort zone – then watching their reaction as they realise they love it. With this carpaccio of beef, they always love it.

The next best part is showing them how easily they can make it. It's all about taking away that fear factor, and this recipe is a classic case.

The most important thing to get right is the meat. Go to a decent butcher and ask for a good Scottish breed: a small Highland is ideal, or Luing, Aberdeen Angus, shorthorn, Shetland, hung for up to 28 days. Okay, so you'll pay for top-quality beef – but you'll be rewarded for your money. Not only is the taste and texture of your fillet going to be melt-in-the-mouth and way above any bog-standard beef, but also, because it's sliced so finely, it will go a long way.

The technique is incredibly simple. For a start, there's hardly any cooking. This recipe differs from the classic method, where lightly frozen beef is sliced through a machine. Here, you get so much more flavour from your beef, from those lovely caramelised edges and the slightly sweet, sticky, peppery crust. Combine that pure beef flavour and zingy pepper with the sharp thrill of the chilli, garlic and coriander dressing, and any frowns of doubt about raw beef will melt into expressions of pure pleasure with this impressive starter.

CARPACCIO OF BEEF WITH ROCKET AND PARMESAN

Serves four as a starter, or present it on a large plate as a help-yourself party dish

For the beef

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns

1 tsp Maldon sea salt

sunflower oil, to sear the meat

600g centre-cut fillet of beef (ideally from a small Highland beast, well trimmed of fat)

Scottish honey, to coat

For the dressing

1 red chilli, chopped and de-seeded

1 small clove garlic, crushed

5g fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt

pepper

50ml sunflower oil

To serve

wild rocket salad

parmesan shavings

Warm a large frying pan over a high heat. Dry-roast the peppercorns for two minutes, then add the salt, and roast for a further minute. Remove and grind in a pestle and mortar or a coffee/ spice grinder, until the salt and pepper mix is broken down, but not powdery.

Take the fillet out of the fridge. Heat another large pan and add the oil. When you see a tiny puff of smoke, immediately sear the fillet in the pan. This needs to be done quickly so the outside is caramelised but the inside remains uncooked. It will only take about four minutes – up to a minute on each of the four sides of the cylinder – by which time the fillet should be well coloured all over but still raw in the middle. Doing this directly from the fridge is easiest, as it will take longer before the beef begins to cook through.

As soon as the meat is coloured, remove it from the pan. Using a pastry brush, paint the honey over the fillet to coat. Alternatively, put the honey in a tray and roll the meat in it. Scatter the peppercorn mix on a separate tray and roll the sticky fillet over the mix to give a thin, even spice crust. Wrap the fillet very tightly in a long length of cling film, wrapping it over about five times (see below).

Return the meat to the fridge to chill. You can now leave the meat overnight. Otherwise, it will cool within about half an hour.

To prepare the dressing, which should not be done too far in advance, place all the ingredients into a small jug and, using a hand-blender, whizz together.

When ready to serve, remove the chilled beef from the fridge. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat straight through the cling film (removing any stray bits) into thin slices, about 4mm or 5mm thick. Lay the slices flat on some greaseproof paper or cling film, place another sheet on top and gently press with a flat object to make sure the beef is wafer-thin. Do a couple at a time. But don't bash the meat or press too hard.

Arrange the slices on a plain white plate. You could return the cut meat to the fridge and bring out a little later to serve, dressing the dish at the last minute.

Paint the dressing on to the meat slices using the back of a spoon, so that it gives the meat a glossy coat. Scatter with the rocket leaves and shave fresh Parmesan over the plate. Serve immediately.

Critical points

The simple act of dry-roasting your peppercorns and salt works wonders in livening up the flavour of these spices, which may have been sitting around in a packet or in your kitchen for a while before you come to use them. When you grind them, don't go too far; you want a slight crunch to your crust.

Wrapping the beef is essential for compacting the meat into a tight cylindrical shape, which makes for clean slicing later. Start by wrapping the meat as tightly as you can into the cling film, ending up with about five layers around the meat.

You'll find that the fillet is wider at one end. Start the tying process at this end by giving the cling film a pinch where it meets the beef. Twist it and tie it right up against the meat. Next, at the thinner end, pinch the cling film again, and this time twist the beef against the pinch, like a wrapped sweet, until the cylinder is tight against the twisted cling film and the shape of the tube is as even as possible. Tie this end off, so you've got a secure package to pop in the fridge.

We've used the base of a small pot to press down the beef here. Gently apply pressure starting from the middle of each slice and working outwards. What you absolutely don't want to do is start bashing the meat or pressing too firmly, as that would break down the structure of the meat.