Vitello Tonnato Recipe

I finally got to show you another classic Italian dish, Vitello Tonnato, very popular all over the world and rightly so. I understood its taste only after the third attempt. I had to try several different recipes, so I'm glad I didn't give up after the first failure. Being a simple food, with two special ingredients - the meat and the sauce, it's very important to use your own tastes to guide you, your preferences and the availability of products from local stores.

After all, it's veal/beef, cooked and thinly sliced, then seasoned with a delicious mayonnaise sauce with tuna and capers. I would never have thought that tuna sauce combines so well with meat, that its taste feels so complete and fine.

Don't be afraid of the special ingredients in the Vitello Tonnato recipe, they can already be found in almost any supermarket (the anchovy fillets and the pickled capers). You can use any veal cut - I had leg, that's what I found in the stores nearby. Tenderloin or fillet would be ideal, but don't give up if you don't have it.

Ingredients
Veal meat
1 kg
tenderloin, fillet, leg or you can replace with beef
Canned tuna
160 g
net quantity
Anchovy fillets
4 pieces
Capers
5 tbsp
Egg yolks
3 pieces
Vegetable oil
200 ml
choose oil with a smell and taste which aren't too strong or too bitter
Onions
1 piece
Carrots
2 pieces
Celery root
0.5 pieces
half a root or 2 stalks of celery
White dry wine
200 ml
optional
Laurel leaves
2 pieces
Whole black pepper
5 pieces
Step by step
Step 1

In a large, deep saucepan, place the meat, 1 onion, carrots and celery.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 1
Step 2

Pour the wine.

You can skip it if you don't have or prefer it without.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 2
Step 3

Add water (or meat broth, if you have) enough to cover the meat completely.

Put the bay leaves and peppercorns here, turn on the heat, place the pot over heat.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 3
Step 4

When it comes to the boil, cover with a lid, turn the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 4
Step 5

Once the meat is cooked, it's very important to let it cool completely in the water in which it boiled.

I usually boil it in the evening and leave overnight to cool.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 5
Step 6

Remove from the water and wipe it with a paper towel, to absorb the liquid as well as possible.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours more, perhaps covered with plastic wrap. We want the meat to harden, to be able to cut it into thin and straight slices.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 6
Step 7

Remove from the fridge, take a knife as sharp as possible and cut the meat into thin slices.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 7
Step 8

Arrange them nicely on the plate.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 8
Step 9

I also like to place the sliced meat in glass boxes with lids. After I finish cutting the whole piece, I freeze the remainings and use them when I make a beef (boeuf) salad.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 9
Step 10

The sauce for the meat is prepared as follows:

- in a bowl, place 3 raw egg yolks;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 10
Step 11

- beat with the mixer, pouring little by little 200ml of oil, until it's fully incorporated, like homemade mayonnaise;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 11
Step 12

- in another bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of capers and 4 salted anchovy fillets;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 12
Step 13

- add here the canned tuna, with the juice or oil well drained;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 13
Step 14

- take a hand blender and mix very well;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 14
Step 15

- add the fish paste to the mayonnaise we prepared a little earlier, blend well again;

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 15
Step 16

- at the end, you get a uniform sauce. Taste it and see if it needs adjustments, with salt or maybe with a little lemon juice.

I like to make it thinner with some Greek yogurt (2-3 tablespoons), for a fresher and very pleasant taste.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 16
Step 17

Pour this sauce over the meat slices.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 17
Step 18

Decorate with pickled capers on top, for the looks and for an extra taste.

It can be served immediately, but it's even better after it's been kept in the fridge for a while.

Enjoy!

Vitello Tonnato Recipe - Step 18
Quantity: 1 kg (4-5 servings)
Prep time:
120 min
Difficulty: easy
Ready in: 600 min