After an initial period, during which this raw meat dish was very well received by the customers of its restaurant, the success was such that the recipe was soon copied by locals all over the world. But what we eat today bears little resemblance to the original recipe.
Carpaccio consisted of thin slices of raw beef, accompanied by a mayonnaise-based sauce flavored with Worcestershire sauce, lemon, and little else. It was presented very simply, without salads or other garnishes, to fully appreciate the delicate flavor of the raw meat.
It is interesting how the love for art was evidenced by the way of pouring the sauce over the meat, defined by Cipriani himself as "Kandinsky," reminiscent of one of the pioneers of abstract painting. When carpaccio is served as an appetizer or main course, with slices of meat on a bed of mixed radicchio or the ever-present rucola, decorated on the surface with mushrooms, in season, or artichokes or celery. Seasoned with Parmesan shavings, oil, salt, and pepper, it tolerates a few drops of lemon, but not a true immersion in the juice, otherwise the meat "cooks" due to the acidity.
Given the success of this version, other "carpaccios" have been created, mainly of fish, but also of vegetables, up to the exaggeration of fruit carpaccio, which, until proven otherwise, is almost always eaten raw. From the dish that symbolized the "yuppies" of the eighties, the "carpaccino," as career women and gelatine men of the era called it, has taken on a more human dimension, becoming part of the menus of pizzerias and "trattorie alla buona," in a "proletarian" version, but no less tasty.
