Variation on the Classic Italian appetizer using pounded eye of round, fresh young beefsteak mushrooms, great tasting oil, good parmesan, and a garnish of strong tasting leafy greens.
4ozhigh quality beef or bison eye round sliced into ½ inch round slices 2 oz / person
1ozHigh quality parmesan, such as parmigiano or grana padano, in a chunk-not grated. or your favorite local brand
Good tasting salad oil I used acorn oil, but EVOO or even a nut oil is good (sans sesame)
Flaky salt such as Faulk or Maldon or kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Small handful of bitter, spicy, or strong tasting greens, such as arugula, sochan, or dandelions, roughly 1 oz or to taste
Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
Put the eye round slices between two layers of cling film on a cutting board and pound lightly with a meat mallet, first using the toothed side, and then the flat side to help increase the surface area, until the slices are roughly ¼ inch thick. From here, the beef can be refrigerated on a plate wrapped in cling film for up to 24 hours.
To serve, arrange the slices of beef on a plate (they should be chilled). Just before serving, slice the mushrooms roughly the same thickness as the beef.
If using a hearty green like sochan or lacinato kale, shred it and mush it around in a bowl with a tiny drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt to soften the texture.
Season the meat lightly with salt and pepper.
Arrange a small mound of greens off-center on the beef, scatter the mushroom slices around, seasoning them with a shard or two of salt-just enough to season them lightly, drizzle with the oil, finish with the parmesan, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
Other mushrooms you can use here
Beefsteaks are fun here, but you can also use thinly sliced raw matsutake, Caesar's mushroom, and porcini the same way.