Vitello Tonnato Recipes

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• In a pot just large enough to fit veal, put wine, celery, onion, carrot, leek, marjoram, thyme and garlic. Add 3 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Add veal, and bring back to a boil. Immediately turn off heat, cover pot and let veal cool in its liquid 2 to 3 hours. When completely cool, thinly slice veal. Slices should be about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick.
• While veal cools, make sauce: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 teaspoon salt until pale yellow and the consistency of cream. Beginning a drop at a time, add 1 1/4 cups oil, whisking continually. As mixture thickens, you can add oil more quickly. When it gets quite thick, whisk in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue adding oil until all of it has been absorbed and mayonnaise is quite thick and shiny. Whisk in another tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Drain tuna, and put it in a food processor with anchovies, remaining cup olive oil, remaining lemon juice and capers. Process until you get a creamy, uniformly blended sauce. Scrape sauce into bowl with mayonnaise and fold to combine. Taste. It should be quite tangy and highly seasoned. Refrigerate until needed.
• To assemble dish: remove 3/4 cup sauce, and reserve to serve alongside veal. Smear bottom of a large serving platter with some of the remaining tuna sauce. Place a layer of veal slices on top, meeting edge to edge without overlapping. Cover with sauce, then make another layer of meat and sauce. Repeat until all the meat is used. Leave yourself enough sauce to blanket top layer.
• Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving. Garnish with some or all suggested ingredients. Serve with reserved sauce on the side.

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or casserole, combine the veal, chicken stock, wine, onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Add water as needed to cover the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover tightly. Simmer, turning once, until the meat is tender and an instant-read thermometer registers 145 to 150 degrees F, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Transfer the veal to a platter and let cool. Strain and reserve the cooking broth. Wrap the veal tightly and refrigerate until well chilled (up to 24 hours).
• To make the sauce, combine the tuna, anchovies, capers, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a blender or food processor and blend to a very smooth texture, about 2 minutes. Add the mayonnaise and process to blend thoroughly. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking broth. Add more, if desired, to taste or for a thinner consistency. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for at least 2 and up to 24 hours. (The sauce tastes best if made 1 day in advance and allowed to rest overnight).
• To serve, thinly slice the meat and arrange on a platter. Drizzle the sauce over each slice, season generously with the kosher salt and black pepper. Garnish by sprinkling with additional capers and chopped parsley. Arrange the lemon slices around the platter and serve.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the egg and lemon juice and process for 10 seconds. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil through the feed tube and process until emulsified. Add the salt and black pepper and pulse to blend. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. (The mayonnaise can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 24 hours).

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• To vitello tonnato (prepare cold veal with tuna sauce), start by cleaning the vegetables you'll need to cook the meat. Wash them, peel and tip the carrot, then cut it into pieces 1 . Tip the celery and cut it into pieces too 2 . Peel the onion and cut it in half 3 . Place the ingredients in a bowl and add the whole peeled garlic.
• Now clean the meat: remove any cartilage and fat filaments 4 . Place the eye of round, chopped vegetables 5 , the laurel leaf, 2-3 cloves and the black peppercorns 6 in a large pan.
• Add the white wine 7 and the water, which should cover all the ingredients 8 . Add two pinches of salt 9
• and then the oil 10 . Switch on the stove and bring to the boil, then remove the foam as soon as it forms on the surface 11 . Put the lid on and lower the flame slightly before leaving to cook for around 40-45 minutes; remember that every lb of meat requires a cooking time of around 30 minutes. The important thing is that the temperature in the middle of the meat cut never exceeds 150 °F ( 65 °C): use a cooking thermometer to check this 12 .
• Once you have cooked the meat cut 13 , drain it and leave it to cool thoroughly 14 . Then remove the laurel, pepper and cloves 15 .
• Take 1/3 of the resulting broth, simmer and reduce it on a high flame for around ten minutes. The leftover meat broth will be useful for other preparations, like risottos 16 ; once cooked, drain the vegetables in a container 17 . Now prepare the boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a saucepan with abundant cold water. Switch on the stove and as soon as the water comes to the boil, set the timer to 9 minutes 18 .
• When boiled, drain the eggs and rinse them in cold water. Peel them once cooled and cut them into 4 pieces 19 . Add the egg slices to the bowl with the vegetables 20 . Add the drained tuna too 21 ,
• along with the anchovies in oil and the desalted capers (to desalt them, place them under fresh running water) 22 ; lastly, add a little broth 23 . Use an immersion blender (a classic mixer will also do) and add a little more broth if needed 24 .
• Blend into a smooth cream with whatever consistency you prefer 25 . By now the meat should have cooled down. Slice it thinly with a smooth bladed knife 26 . Arrange the slices on a serving dish and pour the cream over them. Lastly, decorate with the caper fruits, some whole and some sliced: your vitello tonnato is ready 27 .

TONNATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Blend tuna with reserved oil, mayonnaise, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and garlic together in a blender until completely smooth. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.