The gentleness of champagne vinegar makes this dressing less acidic than typical vinaigrettes. Use it on anything from simple butter lettuce to peppery arugula and garden herbs.

Most of us associate the term carpaccio with thin slices of raw beef. Beef carpaccio was created at Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1950, the year of a major exhibition of the works of the famed Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, whose paintings adorn the church of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni. Legend has it that the dish was created for a frequent guest whose doctor had placed her on a diet forbidding cooked meat. So today sliced raw beef is commonly called by the more modern name carpaccio instead of carne cruda. Carpaccio di pesce follows a similar concept but is prepared with thin slices of fish, pesce crudo.

Some fish need to spend a bit of time in a marinade to partially “cure” and become fork-tender. Tuna is almost always my first choice for carpaccio, as it doesn’t need much to marinate, but buttery slices of Alaskan halibut or salmon are good too, as are shrimp and scallops. They just need a little extra time to absorb the dressing.

The character of this simple, elegant salad will change dramatically depending on the assortment of herbs you select. Experiment with sweet notes like basil and tarragon, or sharper flavors such as cilantro and chives.

The gentleness of champagne vinegar makes this dressing less acidic than typical vinaigrettes. Use it on anything from simple butter lettuce to peppery arugula and garden herbs.