Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)

About This Recipe

Vitello tonnato is one of the most surprising and elegant dishes in Italian cuisine — a combination that sounds improbable (veal and tuna together?) but achieves perfect balance. It is a signature dish of Piedmont in northern Italy and one of the great summer antipasti. The veal is gently poached until perfectly tender, then thinly sliced and served cold blanketed in a silky sauce made from canned tuna, mayonnaise, capers, anchovies and lemon. The umami of the tuna and anchovies complements the mildness of the veal in a way that is deeply satisfying. The dish must be prepared ahead — the veal benefits from being refrigerated overnight in the sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 800 gveal topside or loin
• 1onion(quartered)
• 2 stalkscelery
• 1carrot
• 2bay leaves
• 200 mlwhite wine
• 160 gcanned tuna in olive oil(drained)
• 150 gmayonnaise
• 3 tbspcapers(plus extra for garnish)
• 4anchovy fillets
• 2 tbsplemon juice
• 2 tbspextra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach veal

   Place veal in a pot with onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves and wine. Add cold water to just cover. Bring to a gentle simmer. Poach at the lowest possible simmer for 60–75 minutes until a knife meets no resistance.

   Poaching very gently (barely simmering) is essential — vigorously boiled veal will be tough.

2. 2

   Chill in broth

   Cool veal in cooking liquid. Refrigerate overnight in broth.

3. 3

   Make tuna sauce

   Blend tuna, mayonnaise, 2 tbsp capers, anchovies, lemon juice and olive oil until completely smooth. Season. If too thick, loosen with a little cooking broth.

4. 4

   Assemble and refrigerate

   Slice cold veal very thinly (2–3mm). Spread a thin layer of sauce on a large platter. Lay veal slices overlapping. Spoon remaining sauce generously over the top. Garnish with extra capers. Refrigerate 1–2 hours before serving.

Variations

• •

  Some chefs cook the veal sous vide at 62°C for 4 hours for perfect, rosy-pink results.

• •

  Replace veal with poached chicken breast for a less expensive and equally good version.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Refrigerate assembled dish up to 3 days. Sauce keeps 5 days separately.

Frequently Asked Questions