Serves 2 as a main course:
- 500 g of fresh meat (opt for the bavette)
- 1 large egg yolk (I like to put a duck egg yolk in.)
- 2 tsps of dijon
- 1 tsps of olive oil
- 1 tsp of ketchup or a tomato based sauce
- 1/2 of cognac
- 2 tbsp of chopped capers
- 1 tbsp of chopped cornichons (these are the very little sour pickles)
- 2 tbsp of finely chopped onion (I use yellow onion since it's the sweetest)
- 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp of chopped chives
- 1 tbsp of finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp of grated parmesan
- 1 tsp of finely chopped anchovies
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- pinch of salt
- pinch of espellete
- a few drops of tabasco sauce or a pinch of cayenne to liking (spicy or not spicy)
- 1/2 a tsp of grated or chopped truffle (optional) - some people cannot stand the intensity of truffle, so watch out
1. In a bowl, add all of the ingredients but the meat.
2. Only towards the end (right before serving), chop up the meat really finely and add into the mixture. (You will need a good and sharp knife for this and a wooden cutting board. Nothing else will do. Also, your hand may hurt.)
3. Either shape your tartare with a round and thick cookie cutter or shape it into a patty with your hands. Serve it right away. I recommend serving it with salad and freshly made croutons. Also, add a little lemon slice atop of the tartare; a little bit of lemon juice adds interesting flavour.
The beauty of tartare is that you can mix and match ingredients to your liking. However, I suggest not straying too far away from the basic recipe since it will overpower the taste of the meat.