Piedmontese Vitello Tonnato
Vitello tonnato is a classic Piedmontese starter: veal eye of round cooked with vegetables and white wine, thinly sliced and served with a sauce made with tuna, anchovies, capers and eggs.
Ingredients
For 6 personeFor the veal
For the sauce
To finish
Before you start
Method
Prepare the meat and vegetables
Clean the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Remove any fat or outer membranes from the meat.
Cook the veal
Place the eye of round in a saucepan with the vegetables, bay leaf, cloves and pepper. Pour in the white wine and water until covered, add salt and a little oil, bring to the boil and skim off any foam.
The source recommends not exceeding approximately 65°C at the core.
Reduce the stock
Remove the meat and reduce about one third of the stock for around ten minutes.
Prepare the tuna sauce
Blend the cooked vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and capers with a little reduced stock, adding more until the desired consistency is reached.
Slice and serve
Once the veal is completely cold, slice it very thinly and cover it with the tuna sauce. Leave to rest in a cool place before serving.
Good to know
Tips
Allow the meat to cool completely before slicing it. The sauce should be smooth but not excessively runny.
Variations
There are modern versions with mayonnaise; the recipe used here instead follows the sauce made with hard-boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies, capers and cooking vegetables.
Storage
Store well covered in the refrigerator and consume within 1-2 days.
Behind this recipe
Vitello tonnato is one of the best-known Piedmontese starters. Piemonte Italia documents a version in which the meat is boiled with vegetables, white wine and aromatics, while the sauce is made with tuna, anchovies, capers and eggs.
