Thin Is In

Vegan Gourmet

Thin Is In

Dazzle diners with easy, elegant fruit and vegetable carpaccios

BY Sarah Caroon Mitchell

Carpaccio used to refer only to thinly sliced raw red meat (ick!) drizzled with a sauce. (Beef carpaccio was supposedly invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1950.) Chefs have since discovered the limitless possibilities of combining superthin fruit and veggie slices with complementary sauces, and started creating eye-catching offerings such as tomato carpaccio as an appetizer and pineapple carpaccio for dessert. The chic technique is easy to re-create at home, as the following recipes show.

Make-Ahead Tip
Fruit and vegetable carpaccios can be prepared several hours ahead. Simply arrange the fruit or vegetables on serving plates, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing to make sure wrap is touching the slices to prevent browning or drying out. Remove plastic wrap, then drizzle with sauce before serving.

June 2011 p.40

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Pineapple Carpaccio with Thai Basil and Blueberries

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Thai basil has a stronger anise note than Italian sweet basil, and pairs beautifully with pineapple, but sweet basil may be substituted. Salting the pineapple brings out the flavor of a less than stellar fruit. Leftover syrup combines refreshingly with lime, lemon, or grapefruit juice and still or