Xanthan Gum Free Beef Carpaccio with Arugula and Capers
Raw beef done right is one of the most elegant things you can put on a table, and this version delivers serious restaurant energy with nothing more than a sharp knife, a meat mallet, and a handful of fresh ingredients. The tenderloin gets a brief freeze to firm it up, then it's sliced paper-thin and pounded nearly translucent before being dressed in a bright lemon-olive oil vinaigrette with a quiet warmth from ground ginger. Peppery arugula, briny capers, and fresh parsley finish the platter with color and contrast that make the whole dish look almost too pretty to eat. Because the ingredient list is entirely whole foods — quality beef, citrus, olive oil, herbs — there's nothing here that would typically sneak in a stabilizer or thickener, making it a naturally clean choice without any substitutions required. That's actually one of the quiet wins of classic European-style raw preparations: they were never built around additives in the first place. The key is sourcing the freshest, highest-quality tenderloin you can find from a trusted butcher and keeping it cold right up until plating. Pull this out for a dinner party starter and watch it disappear before anyone even sits down.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the carpaccio
- 8 oz beef tenderloin, trimmed of any sinew
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
For serving
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Wrap the beef tenderloin tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 25–30 minutes, until the exterior is firm to the touch but not frozen solid — this makes slicing and pounding much easier.
- 2
Remove the beef from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a very sharp knife, slice the tenderloin crosswise into rounds as thin as possible, about 1/8 inch thick.
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