Italian · Main · Medium
Vitello Tonnato
Chilled sliced veal draped in a silky tuna and caper sauce. The Piedmontese classic that sounds odd and tastes sublime.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Vitello Tonnato, in 5 ideas
- Poaching the veal gently keeps it tender; boiling makes it tough.
- Chill the meat before slicing; warm veal tears instead of slicing thin.
- The sauce should be the consistency of heavy cream; thin with a spoonful of the poaching broth if needed.
- This is traditionally a summer dish, served cold on hot days.
- It improves overnight as the sauce soaks in, so make it a day ahead.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lb veal eye of round or top round, tied
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can (5 oz) tuna in olive oil, drained
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp capers, plus more for garnish
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
How to make it
Directions
- Simmer the veal with onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and salted water for 1 hour until tender. Cool in its broth, then chill.
- Blend the tuna, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, and olive oil until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Slice the cold veal as thin as you can.
- Spread a layer of tuna sauce on a platter, arrange veal slices over it, and spoon more sauce on top.
- Chill at least 2 hours. Garnish with capers and serve cold.
Money saver. Tuna in olive oil (not water) makes a richer sauce. Italian brands are worth the small premium here.