Rare Beef Summer Salad

You eat with your eyes first and this is testimony to that theory. This Rare Beef Summer Salad was inspired by one of the most beautiful food blogs out there – What Katie Ate. Her Beef Carpaccio Salad looks just heavenly and I was enthralled by the simplicity of the meal and the idea of a horseradish vinaigrette. I added some fresh herbs from my garden and the most colorful heirloom tomatoes I could find (at the Fresh Market). I also added more horseradish to the vinaigrette because I’m crazy about the kick of horseradish on rare beef.

The trickiest part of this recipe is monitoring the temperature of the beef. There couldn’t be anything worse than overcooking a really nice (and expensive) piece of meat – especially considering my friend bought all the ingredients and asked I bring the salad to his house for a small gathering. I purchased a new meat thermometer that is digital and has a cord long enough to go into the oven.This way, I was able to monitor the temperature the entire time it cooked in the oven (totally amazing).

I brought this salad over to a friend’s house for a small weekend gathering. We dined on his terrace and ate good cheeses and bread along with the fresh, colorful and tender meat salad. The personalities around the table were as colorful as the salad.

Rare Beef Summer Salad

Salad:

3 pounds whole beef tenderloin
aruglua
heirloom tomatoes
radishes
spring onions or scallions
fresh basil and taragon
salt and pepper
olive oil

Dressing:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh horseradish
salt and pepper to taste

Assembly: Bring the beef tenderloin to room temperature. Rub oil on the meat an generously season with sea salt and ground pepper. Bring a dry cast iron skillet to smoking hot. Sear all the sides of the meat in the skillet. Monitor the meats internal temperature with a thermometer (I used a fantastic new digital thermometer). Once seared, put the meat into a 425 degree oven until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees. Take the meat out and allow to rest about 15 minutes. Slice thin with a very sharp knife.

Layer the meat on top of a bed of arugula. Top with thinly sliced onion, radishes and a sprinkle of basil and tarragon. Then top with colorful heirloom tomatoes – cut into equal sizes.

Mix all the salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake. Sprinkle over the salad.