Vitello Tonnato

An Italian delight of veal and tuna. An absolutely incredible combination of meat and fish! At first glance it seems like something that shouldn't work, but they say you can't drag Italians from the north of the peninsula away from this dish. Let's give it a try too!

UnicornSteakAuthor avatar
Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:
Translation table of volumetric measures
Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe
By weight of the composition:
Proteins 45 % 5 g
Fats 45 % 5 g
Carbohydrates 9 % 1 g
68 kcal
GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

  1. Step 1:

    Step 1

    First, wash the carrots and celery. Peel the carrots and onion. Cut the unused white part off the celery head (mine were very young plants, so I had two stalks). Coarsely chop the carrots and onion. Put the vegetables in a hot dry skillet and char them lightly.

  2. Step 2:

    Step 2

    After five to seven minutes, turn the vegetables over and char for another five minutes.

  3. Step 3:

    Step 3

    Transfer the vegetables to a pot of at least 3 quarts.

  4. Step 4:

    Step 4

    Wash the veal and trim off any membranes. Put the meat in the pot and cover with 2 quarts of boiling water. Add the bay leaf. Cook the meat over low heat for an hour, skimming off the foam as it forms. Ten minutes before the veal is done, salt the meat to taste. Take the cooked meat out of the broth and cool it.

  5. Step 5:

    Step 5

    Wash the eggs in warm water. Separate the whites from the yolks; you won't need the whites. With an immersion blender, beat the yolks into a fluffy mass. It should increase a little in volume and lighten in color.

  6. Step 6:

    Step 6

    Squeeze 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the sauce and add 1 tablespoon of dry white wine.

  7. Step 7:

    Step 7

    Add the olive oil in a thin stream while blending the mayonnaise base with the immersion blender.

  8. Step 8:

    Step 8

    The mixture should thicken up well.

  9. Step 9:

    Step 9

    Add half an anchovy fillet to the mayonnaise base. That was plenty for me, but it's a matter of taste — if you love anchovies, add more.

  10. Step 10:

    Step 10

    And the final step: canned tuna. Mine wasn't fillets but chunks, so I removed the spines and large bones from the fish first.

  11. Step 11:

    Step 11

    Blend the sauce thoroughly until smooth.

  12. Step 12:

    Step 12

    Slice the cooled, fragrant veal as thinly as you can and arrange it on a serving platter. Spoon plenty of the tuna mayonnaise over it and garnish with fresh arugula and red onion rings. Capers are a must in this dish — scatter them on top to taste.

  • Don't assume Italians use fresh tuna instead of canned. Not at all — this dish needs the flavor of canned fish specifically. So I think a cold appetizer like vitello tonnato made by this recipe is as close to the original as it gets. Needless to say, this appetizer is an explosion of flavor! Definitely worth a try. Enjoy, and may it leave an unforgettable impression!

Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish

  • Carrots - 33  kcal/100g
  • Dried carrots - 275  kcal/100g
  • Boiled carrots - 25  kcal/100g
  • Veal - brisket - 213  kcal/100g
  • Veal fillet - 158  kcal/100g
  • Veal leg - 161  kcal/100g
  • Veal - leg - 108  kcal/100g
  • Veal - chop on a bone - 188  kcal/100g
  • Veal - schnitzel - 162  kcal/100g
  • Veal - loin - 210  kcal/100g
  • Atlantic anchovies, canned - 135  kcal/100g
  • Bay leaf - 313  kcal/100g
  • White wine - 78  kcal/100g
  • Canned capers - 23  kcal/100g
  • Capers - 23  kcal/100g
  • Salt - 0  kcal/100g
  • Water - 0  kcal/100g
  • Onion - 41  kcal/100g
  • Lemon juice - 16  kcal/100g
  • Olive oil - 913  kcal/100g
  • Egg yolks - 352  kcal/100g
  • Arugula - 25  kcal/100g
  • Celery stalk - 12  kcal/100g
  • Canned tuna in its own juice - 96  kcal/100g

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