Piedmont Appetizer
Vitello Tonnato
Make vitello tonnato with tender chilled veal and a silky tuna, caper, anchovy, and lemon sauce.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Moderate
Instructions
- Place the veal in a pot with carrot, celery, onion, and enough lightly salted water to barely cover it.
- Bring just to a simmer, then lower the heat and poach gently until the center is cooked through but still tender.
- Cool the veal in its cooking liquid so it stays moist, then chill until firm enough to slice very thinly.
- Blend tuna, anchovies, capers, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and a splash of poaching liquid into a smooth, pourable sauce.
- Taste the sauce before salting; anchovies and capers usually provide most of the seasoning.
- Arrange thin veal slices in a shallow layer, coat with sauce, and repeat if needed so every slice is lightly covered.
- Chill for at least 2 hours, then garnish with capers and serve cool rather than icy cold.
This vitello tonnato recipe covers the Piedmont classic of thin chilled veal with tuna sauce. Gentle poaching, careful slicing, and a balanced caper-anchovy sauce give the cold veal tuna sauce its elegant texture.
Why This Vitello Tonnato Recipe Works
Vitello tonnato improves as it rests. The sauce should be pourable but not thin, so add poaching liquid slowly.
Key Tips
- Cool the veal in its poaching liquid so it stays moist enough to slice very thinly.
- Blend the sauce until smooth and loosen it gradually; Piedmont vitello tonnato should be silky, not heavy.
- Rest the finished platter in the refrigerator so the veal and tuna sauce settle into one dish.
Variations and Serving Ideas
The same technique helps when you want veal with tuna sauce, Piedmont vitello tonnato, and cold veal tuna sauce. Keep the character of Vitello Tonnato in mind: choose good ingredients, control texture, and serve the dish at the moment it tastes most vivid.
Piedmont Appetizer make-aheadchilledclassicveal
