Make your own beef tartare with vegetables, cashew puree, ginger vinaigrette

A dish that requires some prep work to be done at least 24 hours in advance might scare some people away, but Nick Berolo says his modern take on beef tartare is really a low-maintenance dish. 

Berolo is the executive chef at the Sur-Lie eatery on Murray Street, which replaced the restaurant Murray Street after it closed late last year.

Sur-Lie serves up classic French cuisine with a modern twist. 

He shared his beef tartare recipe with CBC Radio's All in a Day on Wednesday.

Beef tartare with grilled romaine heart, cashew puree, pickled carrot and ginger vinaigrette

Note: Recipe requires preparation 24 hours in advance

Pickled carrot ingredients:

• 300 g white sugar.
• 300 g white wine vinegar.
• 300 g water.
• 200 g multi-coloured baby carrots.

Instructions:

1. Place all water, white wine vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, then boil until sugar is dissolved.
2. Cool the liquid. Meanwhile, slice thin rounds of carrots using a mandolin.
3. Add sliced carrots to cooled liquid. Let sit in fridge covered 24 hours.

Ginger vinaigrette ingredients:

• 500 g canola oil.
• 125 g soy sauce.
• 60 g lemon juice.
• 35 g Dijon mustard.
• 27 g garlic.
• 135 g honey.
• 125 g rice vinegar.
• 40 g fresh red chilli, seeded.
• 3 g crushed black pepper corn.
• 17 g kosher salt.
• 85 g fresh ginger.

Instructions:

1. Peel ginger.
2. Add all ingredients except canola oil to blender, adding canola oil slowly while blending to emulsify.

Cashew puree ingredients:

• 125 g roasted cashews.
• 500 g water.
• Salt, to taste.

Instructions:

1. Toast cashews in a pan at medium heat until light brown.
2. Add toasted cashews to pot with 500 g of water, then season with salt to taste.
3. Cook cashews for 10 minutes on medium heat, then drain cashews and add to blender.
4. Add water and blend until a loose puree is formed. Place puree into a squeeze bottle.

Grilled romaine hearts ingredient:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise with first layer of outside leaves removed.

Instructions:

1. Heat BBQ to medium heat. Grill romaine on both sides until lightly charred.
2. Let cool and then cut into bite sized pieces.

Beef tartare ingredients:

• 3 oz hand cut fillet mignon.
• 20 g diced fermented cabbage (can be store bought sauerkraut or homemade).
• 10 g chives sliced into small rounds.
• 10 g shallots minced.
• 10 g purple carrot grated.
• 5 g chopped cashews.
• 10 g egg yolk.
• Ginger vinaigrette, to taste.

Instructions:

1. Place an empty serving plate in the fridge to cool. In a large bowl, add all ingredients and gently fold together.
2. Place the tartare on the cooled serving plate and garnish with rounds of pickled carrot and bite-sized pieces of grilled romaine.
3. Squeeze dots of cashew puree over the tartare.