Vitello Tonnato
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 8-10 people a part of a lunch spread
- 750g-1kg/26-35oz. veal fillet (I used a White Rocks hormone free veal backstrap, you can also use veal eye round or tenderloin if you can get it)
- Enough water to cover veal in a stock pot
- 1 stick celery, cut into quarters
- 1 carrot, cut into quarters
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 3 bay leaves
- Water/oil from tin of tuna (below)
For sauce
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 6-8 brown anchovies (to taste)
- 1-2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 425g/15oz. tin of tuna (water or oil reserved to put in cooking water for the veal)
- 3 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise*
- 1.5 cups vegetable oil*
- Juice of half a lemon
- Caper berries to decorate
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
*I wasn't confident about the state of the eggs in the fridge so I subbed by using bought mayonnaise. If you have fresh eggs, use 2 egg yolks and 2.5 cups oil.
Step 1 - Trim the white fat from the veal (I didn't and it wasn't ideal). We strung up the veal to give it a rounder shape but this isn't really necessary. Bring the water, celery, carrot, onion, bay leaves and tuna water/oil to a boil. Turn off the heat and immerse the fillet in the water and place lid on. Allow to sit in the water for 1 to 1.5 hours. Remove from water (this is now a nice, light stock so keep it) and cool the veal completely.
Step 2 - I made the sauce this while the veal was cooking. Process the garlic, anchovies and capers until finely chopped. Add the mayonnaise and oil and process until you get a smooth sauce. Add the tuna and then the lemon for seasoning and process again. Taste for seasoning adding more anchovies and/or capers as needed. If it is too thick, you can add a little water.
Step 3 - Once the veal is completely chilled slice veal thinly and then spread with the tuna cream. Allow to sit overnight for the flavours to meld. Decorate with caper berries and finely chopped chives and serve chilled.