[Sca-cooks] Tartare and Tournedo (was automat)

[Gwynydd of Culloden]

> Do you just not like the idea of the steak cooked tartare? Or is
> this not the type of meat that you usually cook tartare?

Steak Tartare is uncooked.  If one were to cook it, it would no longer be
"tartare".

beef tartare

[tar-TAR]
A dish of coarsely ground or finely chopped high-quality, raw lean beef that
has been seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs. It's thought to have
originated in the Baltic provinces of Russia where, in medieval times, the
Tartars shredded red meat with a knife and ate it raw. Today the seasoned
raw meat is usually shaped into a mound with an indentation in the top, into
which is placed a raw egg yolk. Beef tartare (also referred to as steak
tartare ) is usually served with capers, chopped parsley and onions.

Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

http://www.epicurious.com/run/fooddictionary/home

Steak Tartare (from
http://www.chilipaper.com/FRecipes/Fmains/Fmeats/steak_tartare.htm)

Ingredients:

1/2 pound filet mignon, ground for steak tartare (ask your butcher)
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped capers
2 or 3 drops of Tabasco
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

Mix beef with shallots, parsley, and capers. Place mixture in chilled bowl.
Add Tabasco  and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to
serve. Serve with thin slices  of dark bread.

> Ok, what is a "tournedo"?

tournedo

TOOR-nih-doh, toor-nih-DOH]
A beef steak cut from the TENDERLOIN, measuring 3/4 to 1 inch thick and 2 to
2 1/2 inches in diameter. Since tournedos are very lean, they're sometimes
wrapped in pork fat or bacon prior to grilling or broiling. Classically,
they're served on fried bread rounds and topped with a sauce, such as
mushroom sauce.

Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995
based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

However, other meats can, it seems, be called tournedo (the epicurious site
has recipes for veal, pork, and salmon tounedos - but not one for beef).

A Visit to Rossini's Restaurant: Tournedos a la Rossini by Mark Pennell
Some argue that Tournedos a la Rossini, a sumptuous dish made with beef was
actually invented by Rossini himself, but these days most believe that it
was a recipe dedicated to Rossini by the Casimir Moisson, the great chef at
Masion Doree.

Tournedos a la Rossini Recipe (2 servings)

3 Tbsp. butter
2 slices foie gras
2 slices white bread, without crusts and trimmed to the size of the
tournedos
2 tournedos
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly about 1/4 cup Madeira sauce
1 truffle, sliced (this is optional)

In a small skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter and then with it, gently
saute the foie gras slices.
In another small skillet melt 1 Tbsp. of butter and then fry the white bread
slices until browned on both sides.

After seasoning the tournedos with salt and pepper, get another skillet out
and heat the last tablespoon of the butter, but this time mix with 1 Tbsp.
of olive oil. Saute the garlic just until it begins to brown. Remove the
garlic. Place the tournedos in that skillet and cook over a high flame so
that the meat is nicely browned on the outside, but still pink on the
inside. Place each tournedo on a toasted bread crouton.

If you wish, still working with that skillet, briefly saute a sliced
truffle. Lay a slice of the foie gras on each tournedo, and then over these
place the sliced truffles.

Then, while savoring this delight, put on some Rossini, and enjoy!

http://www.wksu.org/classical/articles/rossini_recipe.html

Gwynydd


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