In Venice on this day in 1931 Harry’s Bar was opened by an enterprising young barman, Giuseppe Cipriani, and the ne’er-do-well American Harry Pickering. It soon became the most glamorous and star-studded bar in town. I went for lunch in 1986 and had such a good time, and so many Bellini cocktails of Prosecco and peach juice, that I went straight back for dinner the same day with barely an hour’s stroll around Piazza Santa Maria in between.

Now run by Arrigo Cipriani, who has just opened Cipriani London at 23 Davies Street, W1, Harry’s is a virtual club for the super-rich rather than for the romantic flotsam of yesteryear. But my memories remain sparkling fresh, a remarkable feat considering the number of Bellinis.

The famous beef carpaccio was created in 1950, when a tearful Contessa Amalia Nani Mocenigo informed Giuseppe that her doctor had forbidden her to eat cooked meat. Ever resourceful, he returned with a platter of the now-familiar finely sliced raw beef, criss-crossed with a dressing of mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice.

Asked for its title, he immediately replied: “Carpaccio”, thinking of the rich reds and whites of the Renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio.

Arrigo, needless to say, wishes he had said “Cipriani’ instead.

In this version, the beef is seared until crusty but still rare inside, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, horseradish cream and lemon juice, and strewn with capers and rocket leaves. It differs from the original — a fact that I blame on all those Bellinis.

Ingredients
Serves 4

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 5 min + resting

500g centre-cut beef fillet (Chateaubriand)
1tsp sea salt
1tsp cracked black pepper
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp capers, rinsed
100g rocket leaves
1 lemon, quartered

Dressing:

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp horseradish cream
1tbsp lemon juice
2tbsp single cream or milk
Sea salt and pepper

METHOD

Ask for the beef in one piece, trimmed of fat and sinew. Rub the salt and pepper into the beef. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sear the beef on all sides: about one minute per side. Remove and cool.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, horseradish, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the cream or milk until it is runny. Wash and spin-dry the rocket leaves. Finely slice the beef, using the full length of the blade of a long, sharp knife. Then use the flat side of the blade to stretch each slice. Arrange the beef, slightly overlapping, on four plates. Season well. Drizzle the dressing over the top in thin criss-cross lines, strew with capers and rocket leaves. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

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