Recipe courtesy of Angela Dimayuga

A more elegant lettuce cup. Stacked lettuces herbs are served with beef tartare topped with cured salmon roe. Use a spoon for guests to serve the tartare themselves to enjoy on a fresh crisp lettuces and herbs.

12 pc gem lettuce leaves
12 pc mint leaves
12 pc thai basil
12 pc green shiso
12 pc red shiso
6 oz flank steak
4 TB fish sauce, high quality
1 TB fresh lime juice
½ pc thai chili
½ pc Holland chili
fresh black pepper
3 TB crispy fried shallot
1 TB olive oil
salt to taste
2 oz cured salmon roe, or trout roe
optional crushed ice for garnish

Prepare your “lettuce cups”. Remove the leaves from the base of the whole gem lettuce head by slicing a ½ inch from the base. Reserve lettuce hearts for a future use. Select 12 nice full pieces of gem lettuce leaves. Take one gem lettuce leaf and place in your hand as the base for your layered lettuce cup. Stack from the bottom to top, 1 pc each of mint, basil, red shiso, and green shiso. Carefully arrange the stacked leaves on tray and store in the refrigerator with a damp cloth to keep the herbs fresh and crisp while you prepare your tartare.
 
With a mortar and pestle, grind the chilies into a fine paste. Add your fish sauce, lime juice, and black pepper to the mortar and pestle, and allow to marinate while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
 
Using a sharp knife, dice your flank steak into small even, ¼ inch cubes. First slice your steak into thin slabs, then julienne, and into the dice for even cubes. Set aside in a small mixing bowl. Add your crispy fried shallots and olive oil to the bowl, and season with the lime and fish sauce dressing to taste. Mix to combine. The tartare should be bright and nicely seasoned with the dressing.
 
Transfer to a small bowl, and top with roe. Serve with a small spoon and rest onto a larger platter lined with a linen and filled with crushed ice. Make a small nest into the center of the ice bowl, and rest your tartare into it and arrange your lettuces around the ice. Guests can serve themselves by picking up an entire stack and transferring a spoonful of the tartare into the cup for
a two bite small dish.
 
OR to serve as an hors d’ oeurves, mix the tartare without the roe. Scoop a half teaspoon of tartare into the center of each cup and top with a ¼ tsp of roe.

Serves 4 people

BACK TO RECIPES