Vitello Tonnato

Appetizers Veal Italian Fish and Seafood

Recipe: Vitello Tonnato

Veal with tuna sauce is an Italian appetizer, ideal for hot summer days. Cold slices of veal poached in broth are served with a delicate and aromatic sauce.

Ingredients

1 piece veal tenderloin (about 500-800 g)
1 small onion
1 small carrot
1 slice celery
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 sprig of rosemary
4 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used sherry vinegar)
100 ml dry white wine
500 ml chicken broth
1/2 lemon
1-2 tablespoons oil

Tuna Sauce

1 can tuna in oil (160 g)
1 hard-boiled egg
50 ml oil
2 heaping teaspoons capers
salt, pepper

How to prepare vitello tonnato

  1. Heat the oil in a tall pan that can fit the piece of meat (I cut the tenderloin in half to fit). Lightly brown the tenderloin on all sides. Remove from the pan.
  2. In the remaining oil, add the onion, carrot, and celery cut into large pieces. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the rosemary, bay leaves, cloves, and anchovies and saute for another minute.
  4. Deglaze with vinegar and cook until it evaporates. Add the wine and cook until it almost completely evaporates.
  5. Add the broth and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Put the tenderloin back in the pan. Top up with water until the meat is completely covered. Simmer covered, on very low heat, for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove the tenderloin to a plate and let it cool a bit. Roll the tenderloin tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  7. Continue cooking the broth remaining in the pan for another 20 minutes on medium heat, until it reduces by about half. Strain the broth.
    * you won't use all the broth for the tuna sauce, so the rest can be frozen and used for other portions of sauce
  8. Prepare the tuna sauce: put the egg and drained tuna in a blender. Blend until it becomes a smooth paste. Add ground pepper and capers and blend a bit more. Then add the oil, one tablespoon at a time, and blend. Thin the sauce with the broth from above. Add as much broth as you like until the sauce has the consistency you prefer (I used 50 ml broth), keeping in mind it will thicken a bit when cold. Adjust the sauce for salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Refrigerate the sauce.
  9. Keep the meat and sauce refrigerated until the next day. To serve, slice the meat thinly (with a ham knife or electric slicer) and drizzle with tuna sauce. Decorate with capers and olive oil mixed with chopped parsley.

Brown the tenderloin

Brown the tenderloin

Saute the vegetables

Saute the vegetables

Reduce the wine

Reduce the wine

Add the broth

Add the broth

Tuna and egg in blender

Tuna and egg in blender

The tuna sauce

The tuna sauce

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