Vitello Tonnato Recipes

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or casserole, combine the veal, chicken stock, wine, onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Add water as needed to cover the meat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover tightly. Simmer, turning once, until the meat is tender and an instant-read thermometer registers 145 to 150 degrees F, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Transfer the veal to a platter and let cool. Strain and reserve the cooking broth. Wrap the veal tightly and refrigerate until well chilled (up to 24 hours).
• To make the sauce, combine the tuna, anchovies, capers, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a blender or food processor and blend to a very smooth texture, about 2 minutes. Add the mayonnaise and process to blend thoroughly. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking broth. Add more, if desired, to taste or for a thinner consistency. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for at least 2 and up to 24 hours. (The sauce tastes best if made 1 day in advance and allowed to rest overnight).
• To serve, thinly slice the meat and arrange on a platter. Drizzle the sauce over each slice, season generously with the kosher salt and black pepper. Garnish by sprinkling with additional capers and chopped parsley. Arrange the lemon slices around the platter and serve.
• In a blender or food processor, combine the egg and lemon juice and process for 10 seconds. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil through the feed tube and process until emulsified. Add the salt and black pepper and pulse to blend. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. (The mayonnaise can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 24 hours).

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• Place the veal in a casserole large enough to accommodate it. Add the wine and enough water to cover the veal by 1/2 an inch. Remove veal and set aside. Add vegetables and bouquet garni to the water and bring the liquid to a boil. Return the meat to the simmering water, cover and cook gently for about 1 1/2 hours or until the veal is cooked through.
• Remove the veal from the heat and let it cool in its own liquid, remove it from the liquid and the veal is ready. (Boil the remaining liquid down by half and use as you would broth.) Remove strings and thinly slice.
• In a food processor puree until creamy the tuna fish, anchovies, capers, vegetable and olive oils. Add lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice (add more if you wish). Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and fold in the mayonnaise and season very well with salt and pepper.
• Spread bottom of a shallow nonmetal dish with a layer of tuna sauce. Arrange some veal slices, in a single layer, end to end, over the tuna sauce. Cover first layer of veal again with tuna sauce. Build up a second layer of veal and cover with sauce again. End with a generous layer of sauce, (making sure veal is entirely covered so that it does not dry out). Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Serve chilled with steamed haricot verts (French green beans) or asparagus along with wedges of ripe tomato, halved pitted black olives, snipped chives and chopped parsley.

INSTANT POT® VITELLO TONNATO (POACHED VEAL WITH TONNATO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Combine water, vegetable broth, wine, garlic, peppercorns, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, and bay leaves in a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®). Add a steamer basket. It's okay if the liquid is higher than the bottom of the basket.
• Leave veal whole, but trim off any excess fat or skin. Place it into the basket. Add onion and place potatoes on top. Make sure the potatoes aren't touching the liquid.
• Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 12 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Combine eggs, drained tuna, anchovies, 3 teaspoons capers, and olive oil in a bowl. Mash into a coarse paste with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Release pressure using the natural-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Release any remaining pressure carefully using the quick-release method, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Carefully remove the potatoes and onion; set aside.
• Remove the veal and allow to cool. Wrap the veal in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Strain and reserve the broth. Add some of the cooled broth to the sauce. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth and creamy, adding broth little by little as needed. Refrigerate, reserving the broth in case you need it to thin the sauce before serving.
• Slice the veal as thinly as possible with a carving knife. Arrange the slices on a plate. Slice the potatoes and onions and arrange them on the plate. Top with tonnato sauce and garnish with remaining capers. Serve cold or at room temperature.

TONNATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Blend tuna with reserved oil, mayonnaise, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and garlic together in a blender until completely smooth. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.

VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• In a pot just large enough to fit veal, put wine, celery, onion, carrot, leek, marjoram, thyme and garlic. Add 3 inches 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 to 3 hours. When completely cool, thinly slice veal. Slices should be about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick.
• While veal cools, make sauce: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/4 teaspoon salt until pale yellow and the consistency of cream. Beginning a drop at a time, add 1 1/4 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 3/4 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.

SAM SIFTON'S VITELLO TONNATO

Steps:

• If necessary, tie the veal with cotton string, so that it resembles a salami. Place the meat in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and cover with tuna, onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, wine, broth, salt and pepper, then heat over a high flame until it comes to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to very low, cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the veal reaches 130 degrees.
• Remove meat to a large, nonreactive bowl, strain the broth over it, cover and allow the meat to cool in the refrigerator. (Discard solids.)
• Meanwhile, put yolks in a medium bowl. Beat together with a wire whisk. Begin to add oil as you beat, a very little at a time, adding more as each bit is incorporated. When a thick emulsion forms, then you can add oil a little faster, but not much faster. The entire process should take roughly 5 to 7 minutes. (You may not need all the oil.)
• Add tuna, anchovies and caper brine to the mixture, then beat to incorporate. Add a few tablespoons of the veal broth to thin the sauce slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding lemon juice or more broth to taste. The sauce should not taste overly mayonnaisey but should lurk in the neighborhood.
• Remove the cooled veal from its broth, untie and cut across the grain into very thin slices. Arrange these neatly on a platter with the edges of the slices overlapping, and spoon the tuna sauce over the top. Cover and return to refrigerator overnight or until ready to use. Garnish with capers or fried capers, lemon, hard-cooked egg wedges or sprigs of parsley. Serve with copious amounts of bread and a green salad, lightly dressed.

VITELLO TONNATO (COLD VEAL WITH TUNA SAUCE)

Steps:

• For the veal place the meat, carrots, onions, celery, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns in a fairly snug pot and add water to cover.
• Cover and simmer for one hour. Check from time to time to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom.
• Let cool in the cooking liquid for one hour.
• Cover the veal with a plate and 2 lb weight and cool completely in the cooking liquid. (The purpose of weighing down the meat is to insure compact slices when cut. I usually omit this step because I don't have a kitchen weight.).
• Store in refrigerator until assembly. If you feel creative, you could make something good with the broth; otherwise, it is discarded.
• For the tuna sauce whip the mayonnaise, tuna, anchovy fillets, onion, and lemon juice at high speed in the processor fitted with a steel blade.
• With the motor running add the milk in a thin stream until the desired consistency is reached. It should be thick but pourable.
• For the assembly remove and discard any remaining bits of rubbery membrane on the veal and slice it thinly, no more than 1/4 inch thick. If some of the slices crumble, don't despair. It will still be good.
• Smear 1/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a rimmed platter (I prefer glass).
• Place the veal slices in slightly overlapping circles in the platter, and cover generously and completely with the sauce.
• If you have more veal you can add another layer; just be sure that all is covered by the sauce.
• (If you have more sauce than you need (it is tasty), you can combine it with cubed cooked cold chicken, turkey, or fish, or pour it over cold hard-boiled eggs.).
• The dish should cool in the refrigerator for several hours or up to 2-3 days, covered with plastic wrap.
• Before serving sprinkle on the capers, optional parsley, and garnish with the lemon slices, if desired.