Vitello Tonnato

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 kgveal eye round or top round
• 1carrot, chopped
• 1celery stalk, chopped
• 1 smallonion, quartered
• 2bay leaves
• 5black peppercorns
• 2 tspsalt
• 200 gtuna in olive oil, drained
• 4anchovy fillets
• 3 tbspcapers, plus more for garnish
• 2egg yolks
• 1 tbspDijon mustard
• 2 tbsplemon juice
• 1/2 cupextra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbspveal cooking liquid
• fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach veal

   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.

2. 2

   Cool in liquid

   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.

3. 3

   Make 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.

4. 4

   Emulsify

   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.

5. 5

   Slice veal

   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.

6. 6

   Plate

   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.

7. 7

   Garnish

   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.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

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.

Frequently Asked Questions