Vitello Tonnato, Montpeliano Restaurant

Vitello tonnato is a well-known Italian dish of cold, sliced veal covered with a creamy, mayonnaise-like sauce that has been flavored with tuna fish. It is served chilled or at room temperature, generally in the summertime, as the main course of an Italian meal or as "an exceedingly elegant antipasto for an elaborate dinner.

In the 19th century, when Vitello Tonnato first began appearing in cook books, Piedmont was allied with coastal Liguria, where tuna was canned. Along with the tuna trade, oil, lemons and capers — the other elements of tonnato sauce — also made their way into Piedmont. The tuna was treated just like these other elements, as a condiment. What Vitello Tonnato did not have back then was mayonnaise. That is certainly a 20th-century addition. Before, the tuna would likely have been pounded with the capers and herbs and oil to give it a creaminess. Mayonnaise, in a way, is cheating. But cheating with delicious results. People who cook Vitello Tonnato are often proprietary about their method, much in the same way French cooks are about coq au vin. Below are a few examples of the varieties of opinions:

Some begin by browning a veal roast in olive oil, then simmer it with carrot, celery, onion, white wine and bay leaf. The meat is cut thickly and sauces it with a tuna mayonnaise made with vegetable oil.
Some chefs insist on braising the veal in pure, unsalted water with vegetables.
Some make the sauce with olive oil and is dense with tuna (canned, packed in oil). then layer the veal and sauce so that the veal is completely indistinguishable from the sauce.

Often chefs serve the dish with the sliced veal prettily fanned out and a little mound of sauce on the side. This defeats the very purpose of the dish, which is to give the tuna sauce time to infiltrate the veal so that the flavours of one and the delicate texture of the other become fully integrated.

RECIPE SERVE 4:

• 500g rump of veal
• Olive oil, for frying

For the sauce:

• 1 Lemon, juice only
• 1 clove Garlic
• splash of vinegar, from the caper jar
• sprig of flat leaf Parsley
• 200g Tuna, drained
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsp capers
• 250ml salad oil

To serve:

• capers, in vinegar drained
• cress

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/ gas mark 6.

2. Season the rump of veal on all sides. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Brown the veal evenly on all sides. Transfer to a roasting tin and cook in oven until rare (around 5 minutes) or until your liking . Allow to cool and refrigerate.

3. For the sauce: in a blender, mix together the lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, flat leaf parsley, tuna, egg yolks and capers until you have a smooth paste. Add the oil a little at a time, processing continuously until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice if necessary.

4. Thinly slice the veal, dress generously with the tuna sauce, and garnish with capers and cress.

Try our delicious Vitello Tonnato! book online at www.montpelianorestaurant.com

Montpeliano Restaurant
13 Montpelier street
London
SW7 1HQ
T. +44(0)2075890032
www.montpelianorestaurant.com
info@montpelianorestaurant.com