Beef carpaccio with red leaves and ewe’s milk cheese

Serves 6 You do not have to use expensive beef fillet, although it is the most tender and easy to prepare. Ask the butcher to cut a single piece from well-hung (dry-aged) rump.

— 750g dry-aged rump steak

in one piece, or beef fillet — olive oil, for rubbing — dried thyme leaves — 200g red salad leaves (radicchio, red chicory or special leaves like bull’s blood, red sorrel, baby red chard, pink stem radish cress or red radish cress) — 200g hard ewe’s milk cheese (pecorino, Lord of the Hundreds, Berkswell or Manchego) — 1 tbsp chopped chives or chive flower petals (when in season) — 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Trim the beef of any membrane or fat. Rub some olive oil on the surface, sprinkle with dried thyme leaves and season with plenty of black pepper.

Heat a pan until very hot then sear the beef on both sides very quickly, rolling it around in the pan until browned – this should only take a few seconds. Remove from the pan, put on a plate and transfer to the freezer, until the beef nearly reaches freezing point, 45-60 minutes.

With a sharp knife, slice or shave some thin slices, no more than 2mm thick. If your slices are not wafer-thin enough to pull apart with a fork, place them between two sheets of baking parchment and use a meat hammer or a rolling pin to flatten them further. Make sure to hammer evenly for the best results. Carefully lift off the paper before dividing the slices among the plates.

Shred the red leaves if they are large. Pare the cheese using a mandolin or potato peeler. Distribute it on top of the beef, followed by the leaves and chives or chive flowers. Finally, zigzag the extra-virgin olive oil over the plates just before you serve and scatter over sea salt and black pepper.