Beef Tartar with pumpkin, coffee, Grana Padano & hazelnuts
Not what you would usually expect when thinking about Italian food but rather an intriguing bite made with fine Italian ingredients, because cooking after all should be fuel by creativity.
For this this finger food I’ve used Grana Padano puffed rind as gluten free cheesy crouton and the beef tartar sits right above it with all of its garnishes.
Hearty and umami, each element complement each other. I strongly recommend the use of Grana Padano Riserva aged over 20 months if you can here as you need a full-bodied cheese to play in harmony with the beef and coffee powder aroma.
Chef’s tip: Keep all the trimmings and crumbs from the Grana Padano puff rind, they are delicious mixed with pangrattato to bread anything or even simply sprinkled over pasta.
Serves: bites for 4/6 // Prep time: 2 h
Ingredients:
Approx 250 gr of Grana Padano rind (4 medium pieces)
200 ml of double cream
100 gr of grated Grana Padano riserva over 20 months
10 gr of toasted hazelnuts
Coffee powder to sprinkle
Salt and black pepper to taste
For the beef tartar:
200 gr of lean beef ready to be chopped or grinded
1 small bunch of chives, finely chopped
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the pumpkin puree:
Approx 500 gr of pumpkin (doesn’t have to be precise)
4 garlic cloves
1 sprig of sage
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of sesame oil (optional)
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A FINGER FOOD, YOU WILL HAVE MORE CHEESE SAUCE AND PUMPKIN PUREE THAN YOU NEED BUT IT’S DEFINITLY MORE DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH SMALLER QUANTITIES. YOU CAN FREEZE BOTH OR USE THEM FOR A DELICIOUS PASTA OR RISOTTO.
Method:
STEP 1
You can make the puff rinds well ahead. With a wet cloth polish the outer part of the cheese rind. You can even use a cheese grated or the back of the a knife to scrape a very thin outer layer of rind. If necessary, rinse the rind with cold water and pat dry.
For this the rinds needs to be very well dried. Place the piece of rind onto a microwave safe dish layered with backing parchment and ‘bake’ for 2 minutes at maximum power. The rind should have puffed by now, at least doubled in size, and be nice and golden, if not, continue to cook by steps of 30 seconds until it does. If it browns to much in some areas don’t worry as it can be removed with a paring knife.
STEP 2
Let the puffed rind cool on a rack or on a kitchen towel and check the crispiness. If there are chewy areas they can be removed with a paring knife. You can now cut the rind into little crostini as you please. I used a pastry ring to make it as fancy as possible but I kept all the trimmings and crumbs to top pasta.
The puffed rinds keep for more than 2 weeks in a airtight container in a cool and dry place.
STEP 3
Prepare the pumpkin the day before. To roast the pumpkin place the slices on a baking dish lined with parchment and dress with a drizzle of oil, salt, pepper and add the smashed garlic cloves and sage to tray. Cover with foil and back at 180 until soft and fully cooked. This can take about 45 minutes or even longer if the slices are quite thick. Check the sliced by piercing them with a fork. I usually bake the last 20 minutes without foil to let some humidity out and give some colour to the pumpkin slices.
STEP 4
Let the cook pumpkin cool and place the pulp onto a sieve to lose as much water as possible. I usually allow it to drain overnight in the fridge. At this stage blitz the pumpkin pulp along with the peeled garlic in a powerful blender until smooth and adjust the seasoning to taste. The pumpkin puree needs to be sooth and firm; to get it perfect a 15% of boiled potatoes while blending can help you bind the puree to a more firm consistency.
Let the puree cool down and place it into a squeeze bottle. Serve at room temperature.
STEP 5
For the Grana Padano sauce simply bring the cream to simmer than add the finely grated cheese and remove from the stove. Mix and let the reaming heat melt the cheese. Only now add salt if needed (the cheese is tasty already). Let the sauce cool and pass it through a fine sieve if any lumps have formed are you need this too to be cold and very smooth. Place it in a squeeze bottle like the pumpkin puree. Serve at room temperature.
STEP 6
For the beef tartar. Prepare this only 30 minutes before serving. Chop finely or ground the beef and season it well with salt, black pepper, the egg yolk, chopped chives and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Let it sit on the side for a few minutes to marinate.
STEP 7
Prepare the little bites with care, take your time and don’t waste your efforts now.
Prepare dollops of beef tartar and top them with the pumpkin puree and the Grana Padano sauce. Now garnish with a sprinkle of coffee powder and chopped toasted hazelnuts. Only now gently place the completed beef tartar on top of the Grana Padano rind crostini and serve immediately.