Vitello Tonnato (Piedmontese Cold Veal in Tuna-Caper Sauce)

A friend from Turin served this to us at a dinner party years ago and I remember being confused before I was won over: cold sliced veal, draped in a sauce made mostly of tuna, for a main course. It sounded backwards on paper. Then I tasted it and understood immediately why Piedmontese cooks have been serving this at every summer lunch and holiday table for generations.

Vitello tonnato is deceptively elegant for how little active cooking it demands. A veal roast poaches gently until just cooked through, chills completely, then gets sliced paper thin and blanketed in a creamy sauce built from tuna, anchovies, capers, and egg yolk or mayonnaise. The tuna sauce sounds like it should taste fishy, but blended properly it turns silky and savory, more like a sophisticated aioli than anything overtly seafood forward.

Because everything is served cold, this is one of the best make-ahead dishes I know for a warm-weather dinner party. It pairs beautifully with our Passatelli in Brodo (recipe on the site) as a starter, or keep things lighter with Caprese Chicken Saltimbocca (recipe on the site) another night from the same part of the world.

Vitello Tonnato Recipe

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus overnight chilling · Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes · Total: about 14 hours · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~340 per serving

Ingredients

• For the veal:
• 2 lbs veal round or eye of round roast, tied
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Water, to cover
• 1 teaspoon salt
• For the tonnato sauce:
• 1 (5 oz) can olive oil-packed tuna, drained
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained, plus more for garnish
• 2 egg yolks (or 3/4 cup good-quality mayonnaise as a shortcut)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup neutral oil (only if making the sauce from scratch with raw yolks)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons reserved veal poaching liquid, to thin
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• Lemon wedges and extra capers, for serving

Instructions

1. Place the veal in a pot just large enough to hold it. Add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, wine, salt, and enough water to cover the meat by about an inch.
2. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low, cover partially, and poach gently for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 135 to 140°F for medium.
3. Remove the veal from the liquid and let cool completely, then wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Reserve the poaching liquid.
4. Make the sauce: if using raw egg yolks, whisk the yolks with lemon juice, then slowly drizzle in the neutral oil while whisking constantly to form a mayonnaise. If using store-bought mayonnaise as a shortcut, skip to the next step.
5. Blend or process the tuna, anchovies, and capers until smooth, then fold this into the mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought, until well combined.
6. Thin the sauce with a few tablespoons of the reserved poaching liquid until it reaches the consistency of a thick, pourable dressing. Season with salt and white pepper.
7. Slice the chilled veal very thin, against the grain, using a sharp knife or meat slicer.
8. Arrange the veal slices on a platter, slightly overlapping. Spoon the tonnato sauce generously over the top, covering the meat completely.
9. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving so the flavors meld. Garnish with extra capers and lemon wedges.

Recipe Notes

• If using raw egg yolks in the sauce, use pasteurized eggs or the freshest eggs from a trusted source, since the yolks are not cooked; good-quality store-bought mayonnaise as a base is a safe and easy shortcut with no real loss of flavor.
• Slicing the veal thin is essential; if it is too thick, the dish loses its signature silky texture. A partially frozen roast is much easier to slice thinly.
• Look for oil-packed tuna, Italian or Spanish brands are excellent, and anchovy fillets at any well-stocked grocery store, near the canned fish or in the international aisle.
• This is meant to be served cold or at room temperature, which makes it a wonderful make-ahead dish for a warm-weather dinner party.