Vitello tonnato
- Published: 16 Mar 16
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
A classic Italian starter recipe made with veal and served chilled with a creamy tuna mayonnaise-style sauce.
- Serves 6 as a starter
- Hands-on time 35 min, plus 2 hours chilling
Ingredients
For the veal
- Olive oil for frying and drizzling
- 400g rose veal topside or rump, trimmed to about 5cm x 15cm, at room temperature
- Sea salt flakes
- 50g wild rocket, 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil and ½ tsp balsamic vinegar to serve
For the tuna mayonnaise
- 2 medium free-range egg yolks
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 15g anchovy fillets in oil (drained weight)
- 1 tbsp capers in brine, rinsed
- 200g tinned tuna in olive oil, drained (use the best quality you can find)
- 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 100ml light olive oil (or equal mix of vegetable oil and olive oil)
You’ll also need
- Digital probe thermometer
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the veal and brown all over (about 2 minutes on each side). Remove to a lipped baking sheet and season well. Put in the oven and cook until the internal temperature reaches 52°C on a digital probe thermometer (about 10 minutes), then leave to rest on a rack or board to cool. When cooled, roll the veal tightly in cling film and twist the edges to seal – the aim is to get it into a neat shape for slicing.
- Chill the veal for about 2 hours to firm up. When firm, remove the cling film and cut into 0.5cm thick slices. Use a very sharp knife and cut the meat across the grain (it will make the pieces of meat more tender).
- For the mayo, put the egg yolks, vinegar, anchovies, capers and tuna in a food processor on a low speed, then blend until smooth. Slowly pour the oils into the tuna mix until it forms a thick mayonnaise. If it’s too thick, mix in a small amount of warm water. Taste and season if required (the anchovies and capers will be quite salty). Keep chilled in an airtight container.
- Put a generous amount of the tuna mayo on a serving platter, then top with the veal slices. Drizzle over a little olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Lightly dress the rocket with the extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then scatter over. Serve immediately.
Recipe by Sam Willis at Café Murano in Covent Garden
- Recipe from February 2016 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 385kcals
- Fat
- 33g (5.1g saturated)
- Protein
- 21.6g
- Carbohydrates
- 0.2g (0.1g sugars)
- Fibre
- 0.1g
- Salt
- 0.5g
delicious. tips
Make the tuna mayo up to 2 days ahead, cover and chill. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
NB Contains raw egg
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