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 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. Just
looking at the photos here, you will appreciate the differences even in
the look of the final dishes interpreted by a variety of chefs.
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.
-
S ome 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.
Here are a few example
of Vitello Tonnato recipes using different cuts of veal and methods of
preparation:
-
Boned veal, cut from the rump
-
Boneless lean veal, preferably eye of round
-
Thick piece boneless veal topside
-
Butt tenderloin
-
Veal roast from the leg or loin, boned and
tied
-
Veal eye of round
-
Boned leg or loin of veal
-
Boneless veal shoulder
-
Bottom Round of Veal
-
Veal roast, top round,
trussed ( the featured recipe below )
-
Bottom Round of Veal Sophia
Loren’s Vitello Tonnato
Vitello Tonnato
featured recipe
6-8 servings
Time: 45 minutes plus 2-3 hours' cooling and 24 hours' chilling
ingredients
2-2½
pounds veal roast ( 1- 1.3 kg, top round, trussed (no thicker
than 3 inches ( 7.5cm) )
1½
cups dry white wine
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 leek, white part only, rinsed and chopped
4 sprigs marjoram
4 sprigs thyme
5 cloves garlic, peeled
For the sauce:
2 egg yolks at room
temperature
sea salt
2¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 7oz can (200g) tuna packed in oil
5 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons capers, drained
Thin slices of lemon, pitted black olives sliced thinly, capers, parsley
leaves or anchovy fillets, for garnish.
Directions
In a pot just large enough
to fit veal, put wine, celery, onion, carrot, leek, marjoram, thyme and
garlic.
Add 3 inches (7.5cm) 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 2-3 hours.
When completely cool,
thinly slice veal.
Slices should be about 1/16
to 1/8 inch thick. (1.5 - 3.0 mm)
While veal cools, make sauce: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks
and ¼ teaspoon salt until pale yellow and
the consistency of cream.
Beginning a drop at a time,
add 1¼ 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 ¾ 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.
Veal preparation adapted
from Il Buco, sauce adapted from ''The Essentials of Classic Italian
Cooking'' by Marcella Hazan (Knopf, 1992). |
