It is on a sunny Thursday afternoon that my mind has wandered off to the weekend's culinary events. It has been a very busy work week and will begin to slow after tonight City Council meeting. I am looking forward to trying the recipe described below this weekend paired with a good local red wine. While traditionally Carpaccio is thinly sliced raw beef, this version is seared to enhance both texture and flavor adding a bit of smoky crunch. In all fairness, this is a spin on a Jamie Oliver recipe for traditional beef Carpaccio. He has been an inspiration for many of my culinary endeavors over the years. The blacktail used for the Carpaccio must be a good tender cut, such as a piece of belly brisket or loin. Marinate the entire piece of venison for a good bit in lime juice, lime zest, grated ginger, cilantro, Thai chili oil, olive oil, chopped garlic, ground ancho chili, brown sugar, salt and pepper, and whatever else comes to mind at the time. 1. Fire up the grill. I prefer a small bit of charcoal mixed with oak/apple wood. 2. Clean, stem, and halve leeks lengthwise to ensure all grit is removed. Peel, halve, remove seed(s), and thinly slice one green mango and/or papaya, (in a pinch ripe fresh fruit of either variety), and one large avocado. Squeeze half a lime over all and set aside. 3. Finely chop five whole scallions (set aside half), two garlic cloves, thumb size piece of fresh ginger, good bunch of cilantro (set aside half), and one or two small hot red chilis of any kind (set aside half). Place all in a bowl with a bit of lime juice, coconut milk, chili oil, and salt and pepper. Toss all together and set aside. 4. Slice purple cabbage in half then into 1/2"" slices keeping the stem intact, the cover with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 5. Pull meat out of marinade ensuring meat is room temperature and not cold from the fridge. Pat dry, cover with salt, pepper, and rub with olive oil. 6. On a clean and screaming hot grill, place cabbage slices and leeks down. When they start to brown and crisp flip. Once both sides are crisp (five to eight minutes each side), set aside onto cooler area of grill. Slap down the venison onto the hottest part of the grill. Turn 90 degrees for good marking after 2 minutes and cook another two minutes. Flip over and do the same (two minutes-turn 90 degrees-two minutes). Pull everything off the grill and place meat under foil tent to continue cooking. 7. Remove stems from cabbage. Roughly chop leeks and cabbage and place in large mixing bowl. Add and toss scallion-garlic-cilantro-ginger-chili mixture. 8. Thinly slice and plate venison around the outer rim of plate. Lay out mango, papaya, and avocado onto meat and plate. Place nest of cabbage slaw in the center of plate. 9. Garnish with remaining garlic, cilantro, chili, and whatever else looks good. Cheers -
