Vitello Tonnato is one of Piedmont's most elegant cold dishes — paper-thin slices of gently poached veal blanketed in a silky, savory sauce of tuna, anchovies, capers, and lemon. The pairing of meat and fish sounds improbable but is a genuine classic: the lean, mild veal becomes a canvas for the rich, briny cream, and the two flavors meet rather than compete. Because it is served chilled and made entirely ahead, it is a fixture of Italian summer entertaining and long Sunday lunches, often appearing at the August Ferragosto holiday. Success rests on two things: poaching the veal gently and cooling it in its own broth so it stays moist and sliceable, and blending the sauce to a pourable, mayonnaise-like silk that drapes the slices without masking them.
Serves 8
Place the veal in a pot with the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt, cover with cold water, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook about 75 minutes to medium, reaching an internal temperature of around 60°C.
Keep it at the barest simmer, never a rolling boil, or the lean veal will turn dry and stringy.
Let the veal cool completely submerged in its poaching liquid, ideally refrigerating it overnight. Cooling it in the broth is what keeps the lean meat moist and makes it firm enough to slice paper-thin.
Save the strained poaching broth — you'll need a few spoonfuls to thin the sauce.
In a food processor, blend the drained tuna, anchovies, 2 tbsp capers, egg yolks, mustard, and lemon juice until smooth. This builds the savory, briny base before any oil goes in.
With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream so the sauce emulsifies into a creamy, mayonnaise-like consistency, then loosen it with a little veal poaching liquid until it pours and coats.
Add the oil slowly at first; pouring too fast can cause the emulsion to break.
Using a very sharp knife, slice the cold veal as thinly as you possibly can, aiming for almost translucent sheets. Thin slicing is essential so the meat stays tender and the sauce can fully envelop it.
Arrange the veal slices on a platter, slightly overlapping like roof tiles, then spoon the tuna sauce generously over the top so it blankets the meat in an even, glossy layer.
Scatter with extra capers and chopped parsley and finish with a thin drizzle of olive oil. Serve well chilled, allowing the dish to come just slightly off fridge-cold for the best flavor.
Slice the veal extremely thin with a very sharp knife, or ask your butcher to do it.
Make it a day ahead so the flavors meld and the veal slices cleanly.
Poach the veal gently and cool it in the broth to keep it moist.
Reserve some poaching liquid to thin the sauce to a pourable silk.
Use good tuna packed in olive oil for the richest sauce.
Use poached turkey breast as a lighter, more economical alternative.
Brighten the sauce with a little grated lemon zest.
A classic Piedmontese version uses a mayonnaise base enriched with the tuna and anchovy.
Garnish with thinly sliced cornichons in addition to the capers.
Refrigerate up to 3 days, with the sliced veal and sauce kept together or separately. The sauce thickens as it chills, so loosen it with a little water, lemon juice, or reserved broth before serving. Bring the dish just slightly off fridge-cold so the flavors aren't muted by the cold.
Vitello tonnato comes from Piedmont in northwestern Italy and is most associated with summer, traditionally appearing at the mid-August Ferragosto holiday and at family Sunday lunches. Recipes for veal with a tuna-style sauce appear in 19th-century Italian cookbooks, and the dish has since become a national antipasto classic.
The egg yolks act as an emulsifier, allowing the olive oil to blend into a smooth, mayonnaise-like cream rather than separating. They give the tonnato sauce its signature silky, pourable texture that drapes evenly over the veal. The tuna and anchovies provide flavor, while the yolks and oil provide the body and richness.
Yes. A common shortcut is to blend the tuna, anchovies, capers, and lemon into a base of good store-bought mayonnaise, which already contains emulsified egg. This avoids raw yolks entirely and is actually a widespread modern method. The result is just as creamy and is convenient for those wary of raw egg.
Lean, uniform cuts that slice neatly are ideal, with veal eye round or top round being traditional choices. They poach to a tender, fine-grained texture and hold together for paper-thin slicing once chilled. A rolled and tied roast helps keep an even shape, giving you tidy, uniform slices to arrange on the platter.
Per serving (180g / 6.3 oz) · 8 servings total
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