Recipe: Lamb Carpaccio with Caesar Salad Ice Cream

It’s not news that chef Patrick O’Connell is a true culinary pioneer when it comes to American cuisine. At his three-MICHELIN-starred Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia, the lauded chef uses classical French techniques to deliver American flavors, like sweet pea panna cotta with baby radishes, snow peas and chilled pea flower consommé; summer vegetable ravioli with roasted sweet corn and chanterelle mushrooms; and cashew-crusted soft-shell crab tempura with a mélange of green papaya, cucumber and bean sprouts. One dish in particular—a starter of lamb carpaccio that’s topped with a silky Parmesan-studded Caesar salad ice cream—has lived on the menu for many years running.

The inspiration came from a trip taken to Italy many years back; O’Connell had never tasted carpaccio before. “I was astonished at how something seemingly so simple could be so incredibly fascinating for the palate and satisfying,” he recalls. And so, the very next night, he returned to the same restaurant and ordered it again.

Carpaccio was on the brain when he returned to Virginia. “We had access to great lamb at the time and I thought we should go for it,” he says. Back then—28 years ago to be precise—O’Connell seasoned his lamb with rosemary and crushed black pepper. “In everything I cook I try to obtain a dual texture so you have something that never bores the palate,” he says. The dish was served with tabbouleh, an item that “was an excellent pairing at a time when tabbouleh was exciting and no one knew what it was.” When chef and the team grew tired of tabbouleh and wanted to give the dish an upgrade, he turned to ice cream, knowing full well that the idea was “wacky” but wanting to push guests.

“We held our breath, put it out there and my goodness—it had universal appeal,” he laughs. “They were fascinated by how well the ice cream complemented the lamb and that it actually provides a sauce . . . and the novelty of it holds their interest. To this day, every single person from children to grandmothers to jaded MICHELIN travelers, they all love it.”

Though intricate, the dish can be replicated at home. At the restaurant, the lamb is seared, sliced paper-thin, laid out in concentric circles on wax paper, stacked and chilled. “It takes no space in the refrigerator,” adds O’Connell. “Then you just turn it upside-down and flop it off the plate and peel the deli paper off and it looks like you’ve spent hours arranging this with tweezers.” The plate is finished with the aforementioned ice cream (which has been molded into individual portions and stored in the freezer), a swoosh of pesto and Caesar dressing not in ice cream form. (“So you have Caesar two ways.”) The meat is brushed with lemon juice, olive oil, a pinch of sugar and some basil leaves that have been freshly-plucked from the garden.

O’Connell does, however, give a cautionary note: “You definitely do not wish to eat the ice cream alone on its own—it’s intended to complement the meat,” he says. Other ice cream tips he has for beginners: always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. “I’m frustrated everyday by the fact that young people, who have access to everything, don’t read anymore,” he says. “I always use the cardinal rule [of] ‘make it as written three times precisely the same way then go riff on it and make it whatever you want.’” O’Connell also suggests using both good quality cream and eggs from a local farmers’ market or a health food store. (The Inn at Little Washington sources its dairy from Trickling Springs.) “It makes a world of difference.”

Here's how to make it at home.