Most people know carpaccio as a starter with tender thinly sliced meat or fish. However, if vegetarians eat with them, you don’t have to remove the carpaccio from the menu immediately. A vegetable carpaccio looks just as beautiful and non-vegetarians will also love it!
Zucchini carpaccio (serves 4)
This carpaccio tastes light and fresh with a Mediterranean touch due to the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. If you have enough time, you can marinate the zucchini for an hour in olive oil with lemon juice to get them even softer before dividing them on the plates.
Ingredients
- 2 courgettes
- 20 black olives
- 50 g pine nuts
- 50 g Parmesan cheese curls
- 5 cl olive oil
- 2 sprigs of chervil
- 1 tablespoon of red berries
- juice of 1 lemon
- fresh salt and pepper
Prepare
Wash the courgettes and cut them into thin round slices (goes well with the cheese slicer). Spread them over 4 large plates. Pour lemon juice and olive oil over it, then salt and pepper. Divide the red berries between the plates and finally add the Parmesan cheese and the olives. Cover the plates with cling film to prevent them from drying out and place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Before serving decorate with pieces of chervil and pine nuts.
Avocado and tomato carpaccio (serves 4)
The creamy soft avocados lend themselves well to carpaccio. In this recipe avocado is combined with thyme and pistachios. Alternatively, you could make a more classic combination with mint and mozzarella or ricotta.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- 3 large tomatoes
- 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 75 g pistachios, unpeeled
- few sprigs of fresh thyme
- fresh salt and pepper
Prepare
Wash the lemon and grate the zest until you have about a teaspoon of lemon zest. Add a teaspoon of salt to the grater and mix well. Then squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the salt mixture. Stir and add the olive oil and pepper to taste.
Cut the avocados in half and remove the stone and skin. Cut the avocados lengthways into strips and make them as thin as possible. Wash the tomatoes and remove the crown. Cut the tomatoes into thin slices as well. Take 4 flat plates and cover them with tomato slices, alternating with an avocado strip. Then divide the lemon dressing over the plates. Peel the pistachios and pick the thyme leaves. Sprinkle both over the carpaccio for garnish.
Beetroot carpaccio (6 persons)
This carpaccio is nice and spicy due to the combination of the spicy orange dressing and the powerful flavor of the arugula. If one of your guests has diabetes, you can simply omit the sugar from the dressing. When the dressing has cooled, add a bit of sweetener instead to counterbalance the slightly bitter arugula.
Ingredients
- 1 kg beetroot (pre-cooked is easiest, otherwise boil and peel fresh and cooked yourself)
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 100 g arugula
- 200 g soft fresh goat cheese
For the dressing:
- 1 large orange
- ½ small onion in thin rings
- ¼ teaspoon of cumin or cumin seeds
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 75 g sugar
Prepare
Cut the (cooled) beets into thin slices (cheese slicer!). For the dressing, thinly grate the zest of the orange. Peel the fruit and cut the flesh into small pieces. In a small pan, bring all the ingredients for the dressing to the boil. Let everything simmer for 10 minutes and then let the dressing cool down. Mix the dressing with the olive oil to taste and season with salt and pepper. Spread the beetroot slices over 6 plates and drizzle some of the dressing over. Divide the arugula and goat cheese over the beets and drizzle the rest of the dressing over the carpaccio.