Carpaccio

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This article is about the food. For the 15th-century painter, see Vittore Carpaccio.

Carpaccio is a dish made of thinly sliced raw beef, veal or tuna, usually served as an appetizer. The name comes from the painter Vittore Carpaccio, who favored red colors reminiscent of raw beef. The dish was supposedly invented during 1950 in Venice when a famous actress of the day informed the owner of Harry's Bar that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat.

Typically the thin slices are served with a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice plus seasoning, often with green salad leaves such as arugula or radicchio and thinly sliced Parmesan cheese.

Today carpaccio is used variably and often refers to any very thinly sliced presentation of foods, which can range as widely as apple, kangaroo, tomatoes, langoustine, bresaola and trout, and a great many more. The amount of cooking varies from none at all to searing, rare cooking, and fully cooked.

The classic carpaccio is of beef—various joints may be used, but typically the most tender and expensive cuts from the lesser-used muscles are favoured. Due to the difficulty inherent in slicing beef thinly, many chefs or home cooks firm up the meat in a freezer for a short time. This, coupled with a very sharp knife or a meat slicer, allows very thin slicing of the beef.

Carpaccio can also be made by cutting a thin slice of fresh meat, and bashing it between clingfilm.