According to Wikipedia, Carpaccio is a dish of raw meat or fish (such as beef, veal, salmon, venison or tuna) generally thinly sliced or pounded thin and served as an appetizer. Harry’s Bar in Venice takes credit for its invention, as does the Savini Restaurant in Milan. Depending on which story you believe, the dish is either called Carpaccio because its hues are reminiscent of the colours used by the artist Carpaccio or because the artist’s name was used as code for a dish that genteel women did not want to be seen ordering (i.e. raw meat). The term Carpaccio is now used to describe anything that is thinly sliced; in this case, it’s zucchini.The following is a slightly revised recipe that originated with Lucy Waverman of the Globe and Mail; it can be used as an appetizer or substitute salad.
Ingredients:
- enough raw zucchini to fill a serving platter or 4 individual serving dishes when thinly sliced. Use small or medium sized zucchini.
- juice of one lemon
- 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
- approximately ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- crunchy, large grain salt (for both flavour and texture)
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Slice the zucchini very thinly on the diagonal with a mandolin or sharp knife; the thinner the slices the better. Place the slices in a circular pattern on individual serving dishes or on a platter. Combine lemon juice, mustard and olive oil and drizzle over the zucchini. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Using a vegetable peeler, shave Parmesan over the zucchini, as much as you like.
