The raw-food movement continues to go from strength to strength, bringing with it the promise of bouncy skin, boundless energy and a digestive system so efficient it would make a Swiss clock look lazy by comparison.
When we think of raw food, the first thing to spring to mind is usually vegetables and fruit, or perhaps the bounty from a day’s foraging in the woods and hedgerows – wild mushrooms, roots, berries, maybe some nettles – but should we eat raw meat and fish?
Of necessity, humans have long eaten raw meat and fish, simply because that’s the form we found it in, and if we lacked the means or knowledge to cook it, we ate it pretty much as we found it.
From the witchetty grubs so beloved of Australia’s aborigines (finger-fat moth larvae – they’re so far ahead of the new rage for eating insects) to Japan’s national obsession with sashimi and sushi, raw food is hardly new; we are just revisiting it.
Interestingly, there are theories that the period during which man discovered fire – and how to cook with it – coincided with the changes in size of the human brain and shrinking of the digestive tract. After all, it was hard to consume sufficient calories back then by solely eating raw food, because a person can only handle so much raw meat, not to mention the hunting required.
But once fire got involved, we had more calories to feed our greedy brains the move began towards smarter human beings.
It's a theory, but is the basis for a fascinating book I like to recommend called Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham.
Naturally there are rules to observe to keep us safe. Because of the bacteria it can harbour, you’d never dream of eating raw pork or chicken, but beef and most forms of fish can not only be eaten raw, but when left in their unadorned state they taste mighty fine. Others still, like lamb, venison and certain game, are at their best when still blushing pink rather than dry and brown.
The secret to eating raw fish or meat is that it must be spanking fresh and of excellent quality. It’s easier to prepare and tastes better.
Good sashimi is a wondrous thing – soft, silken slices that melt in the mouth – but beef carpaccio is also tasty and versatile. This raw delight is just as delicious with some Parmesan, rocket and truffle oil as it is in the salad recipe here, where it revels in an Asian dressing that brings some umami oomph to the finely sliced, raw fillet of beef.
Yes, I did say fillet, because when it comes to beef carpaccio, it needs to be the best.
The trick to slicing it finely is firstly, of course, a very sharp knife, and secondly, to chill it in the freezer for about an hour before you get slicing. It is also better if bashed between sheets of clink film to thin it out. This ensures a little goes a long way.
The dressing is also fantastic with an Asian salad full of Chinese cabbage along with a few shards of the the beef brisket I wrote about a few weeks ago.
dkemp@irishtimes.com
