[2] Carrot tartare. Make it with this recipe from Aliya Leekong in Food Republic.

[3] Beef tartare (photo courtesy Gordon Ramsay Group).

Language evolves, of course. The meaning of words change over time, or grow to encompass additional meanings (although we hope that won’t happen with “woke”).

It’s no different in culinary language, especially given the march of creativity and innovation.

Take the classic Steak Tartare, known for more than 100 years as ground raw beef mixed with onions, capers, Worcestershire sauce and a raw egg.

While 20 years ago, a dish called “tartare” was finely-diced meat (photo #3), or subsequently fish (see the history of steak tartare, below), today anything mounded in a small dice is being called “tartare.”

Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York City pioneered an exciting Carrot Tartare; whole carrots go through a meat grinder at the table (check it out).

You can even make tartare for dessert, as in today’s recipe for Strawberry & Beet Tartare (photo #1).

Or, make a vegetable tartare like Carrot Tartare (photo #2).

In today’s fashion, if you can dice it, season it and mound it, you’ve got tartare!

 
Note: Check with your purveyor and your healthcare provider about the safety of eating any raw fish or meat.
 
 
RECIPE: STRAWBERRY-BEET TARTARE

Ingredients

This recipe is adapted from one on French Women Don’t Get Fat.

1. PLACE the beets at bottom of a salad bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Add the strawberries and sprinkle with sugar.

2. ADD the basil and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

3. MOUND on a plate; use a ring mold if you have one. Garnish as desired.
 
 
BEEF TARTARE / STEAK TARTARE HISTORY

Steak tartare, or tartar steak*, is ground raw beef mixed with onions, capers, Worcestershire sauce and a raw egg. It is generally served with toast points.

In Belgium, where the dish is popular and served with frites (French fries), it is known as filet américain.

The ancestor of this raw meat dish was first described in print in 1660, in a book by a French engineer, a visitor to the Ukraine. Ukrainian Cossacks, he wrote, put finger-thick slices of salted raw horse meat under their saddles and rode their horses until the salted meat was drained of its blood. They then thinly sliced and ate it (source).

The modern version of what became known as Steak Tartare, with raw egg, was first served in French restaurants early in the 20th century. It was then called Steack à l’Americaine.

The 1921 edition of Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire defines Steack à l’Americaine as made without egg yolk, and served with tartar sauce on the side.

Modern steak tartare is an evolution of that dish. The 1938 edition of Larousse Gastronomique describes steak tartare as raw ground beef served with a raw egg yolk, with no mention of tartar sauce (source).

In the U.S., the dish is often called Steak Tartare, “steak” having more appeal than the more generic “beef.” We’ve had lamb tartare more than a few times, at high-end restaurants.

The name “tartare” is now applied to other meats or fish, such as tuna tartare, which introduced in 1975 by the Parisian restaurant Le Duc in Paris.

“À la tartare” or simply “tartare” still means “served with tartar sauce” for some dishes, particularly fried fish.

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*The dish is often attributed to Genghis Khan and the Tatars, who may have originated the horseback recipe. The explanation is that the Tatars, on the rampage, did not have time to cook their meat.
  

What’s at the end of the rainbow? A rainbow veggie pizza!

This pizza is also a clever way to get the I-don’t-want-vegetables contingent to eat more of them. Thanks to Pampered Chef for the recipe.
 
RECIPE: RAINBOW VEGGIE PIZZA

Ingredients

Turn summer vegetables into a colorful pizza (photo courtesy Pampered Chef).

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F (218°C).

2. BRUSH a pizza stone with oil. Place the dough in the center of the stone and roll to the edges, pressing with fingers as needed. Pierce the entire base. Bake the crust for 14–18 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown. Meanwhile…

3. PREPARE the vegetables. Slice the broccoli, dice the bell peppers and onion, halve the grape tomatoes, etc.

4. REMOVE the crust from the oven and lightly brush the edges with oil. Top with ½ cup (125 mL) of prepared pesto sauce and 1 cup (250 mL) of shredded mozzarella cheese. Arrange the vegetables as shown and bake for 18–21 minutes.

5. GARNISH with basil and serve.
  

[2] Heirloom carrots grow in several colors. In fact, orange was one of the later developments; check out the history of carrots (photo courtesy The Wayfarer | NYC).

[3] These are different types of heirloom radishes. Check out your farmers market or plan ahead to grow your own (photo courtesy Little Park | NYC.

[4] Cepa Vieja is a top sherry vinegar (photo courtesy DiBruno Bros.).

“Vegetable-forward presentation is huge on menus,” says Flavor & The Menu, a magazine and website that high-end chefs follow to see what’s trending nationwide.

“It’s moved beyond innovation and into its own movement called veg-centricity,” where vegetables have moved beyond their traditional role: a supporting role to the protein “star” of the plate.

Now, instead of filling out the plate or rounding out a healthy meal, says Flavor & The Menu, vegetables now “co-starring, rather than serving as extras.”
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE CRUDO WITH FRUIT

Some think that eye appeal is the excitement-generator for a dish of food.

But it starts before then, with anticipation: a menu description, or a host announcing the course.

The dish in the photo could have been described as “raw vegetable plate,” which might be enough to entice anyone who wants a vegetarian/vegan dish.

But call it “vegetable crudo” (CROO-doe), and ears perk up.

Crudo is the word for raw in Italian; crude is one word for raw in French (hence, crudités for raw vegetables).

The photo shows an artistic arrangement of sliced raw vegetables, accompanied by orange segments.
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE CRUDO WITH FRUIT

Ingredients

 
The dressing need only be a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Or, you can serve a ramekin of vinaigrette—Dijon vinaigrette would be lovely—on the side for dipping or pouring.

Also consider a sherry vinaigrette*: sherry vinegar has a distinct and delightful flavor. You can use it in the same Dijon vinaigrette.

See more about sherry vinegar below.
 
Preparation

1. MAKE the vinaigrette. Set aside until ready to use (or refrigerate overnight).

2. SLICE the vegetables thinly. The slices should be delicate; not chunky, but not paper-thin. They need to be picked up with a fork.

3. SEGMENT the fruit.

3. PLATE the vegetables and fruit. You can use the photo #1 as a guide, or create your own design.
 
ABOUT SHERRY VINEGAR

Sherry vinegar is not broadly used in the U.S. Fortunately, it is available; and you can treat yourself to a bottle. A premium bottle is also a nice gift for anyone who cooks (or anyone named Sherry).

Authentic sherry vinegar is made in Spain using the solera style of aging. The wine is fermented for years in a series of increasingly smaller oak barrels. This long aging process and artisan technique mean that sherry vinegar commands a higher price tag than most other vinegars.

A dark, intensely-flavored vinegar with a sweet finish, sherry vinegar is used like fine balsamic to add a gourmet touch to dishes. Like sherry wine, the vinegar appeals to connoisseurs. The attributes “fat” and “rich” are often given to vinegars made from sherry, and a fine product’s complexity can be considered “mellow.”

If you don’t have sherry vinegar when a recipe calls for it, you can substitute red wine vinegar.

One of the charms of a quality sherry vinegar it that you can drink it from a shot glass or liqueur glass, as a digestif after dinner (if you find it too strong, add a splash of sparkling water).

 
Buying Sherry Vinegar

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. The wines are D.O.P. protected.

Authentic sherry vinegar will be made from local sherry and labeled Vinagre de Jerez.

As with authentic balsamic vinegar, prices are in a wide range, depending on aging, which creates complexity, and brand reputation.

 
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VINEGAR
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*Dijon Vinaigrette or Sherry Vinaigrette Recipe: Whisk together 1 cup quality olive oil, 1/3 sherry vinegar or other fine vinegar; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

Denomination of Origin, which assures customers that they are buying an authentic product from a designated region, made with traditional artisan techniques.