flipVitello tonnato — cold veal with tuna and caper sauce
Vitello tonnato — cold veal with tuna and caper sauce
Why this dish? A flagship dish of bourgeois Piedmontese tables, vitello tonnato is prepared the day before and eaten cold — practical for a cultivated family like the Levis, and for a woman who, all her life, organized her time around work more than the stove. A dish of Turin memory, elegant and sober like her.
Thin slices of poached veal, cooled, coated with a creamy sauce of tuna, anchovies, capers, and egg yolk, brightened with a touch of lemon. Fresh, tender, refined.
This dish was always made the day before — and that is its genius: it patiently waits in the cold until we have time to sit at the table. Poach the veal in a fragrant broth, let it cool completely in its juices, then slice it as thinly as possible. The sauce I want tangy, lively with capers and lemon, smoothed with an egg yolk — the egg again, always the egg, you see it has followed me everywhere. It is served cold in summer when Turin suffocates, and it has that discreet elegance I have always preferred to noise.
- •Veal round (top round) — a nice piece (poached meat)
- •Oil-packed tuna — a good portion (sauce base)
- •Salt-cured anchovies — a few (umami)
- •Capers — a spoonful (acidity, bite)
- •Hard-boiled egg yolks — two or three (sauce binder)
- •Vinegar or lemon juice — a splash (acidity)
- •Olive oil — as needed (emulsion)
Vitello tonnato — cold veal with tuna and caper sauce
Thin slices of poached veal, cooled, coated with a creamy sauce of tuna, anchovies, capers, and egg yolk, brightened with a touch of lemon. Fresh, tender, refined.
Why this dish? A flagship dish of bourgeois Piedmontese tables, vitello tonnato is prepared the day before and eaten cold — practical for a cultivated family like the Levis, and for a woman who, all her life, organized her time around work more than the stove. A dish of Turin memory, elegant and sober like her.
This dish was always made the day before — and that is its genius: it patiently waits in the cold until we have time to sit at the table. Poach the veal in a fragrant broth, let it cool completely in its juices, then slice it as thinly as possible. The sauce I want tangy, lively with capers and lemon, smoothed with an egg yolk — the egg again, always the egg, you see it has followed me everywhere. It is served cold in summer when Turin suffocates, and it has that discreet elegance I have always preferred to noise.
Ingredients (period version)
- Veal round (top round) — a nice piece (poached meat)
- Oil-packed tuna — a good portion (sauce base)
- Salt-cured anchovies — a few (umami)
- Capers — a spoonful (acidity, bite)
- Hard-boiled egg yolks — two or three (sauce binder)
- Vinegar or lemon juice — a splash (acidity)
- Olive oil — as needed (emulsion)
Ingredients
- Veal top round — 800 g (poached meat)
- Oil-packed tuna (drained) — 200 g (sauce base)
- Anchovy fillets — 4 (umami)
- Capers — 2 tbsp (acidity, bite)
- Eggs — 2 (hard-boiled yolks + 1 raw for mayonnaise) (binder)
- Lemon juice — 1/2 lemon (acidity)
- Mild olive oil — 150 ml (emulsion)
- Carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf — 1 each + 1 leaf (broth)
Method
- Poach the veal for 1 hour in a broth with vegetables and bay leaf, at a simmer; let cool completely in the broth (ideally overnight).
- Blend tuna, anchovies, half the capers, hard-boiled yolks, and lemon juice; slowly drizzle in oil to make a creamy sauce (adjust with a little broth).
- Slice the cold veal as thinly as possible.
- Layer the slices on a large platter, spreading sauce between each layer.
- Sprinkle with remaining capers, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
How it was made : Originally, "tonnato" may have referred less to tuna than to a technique of preserving meat; in the 19th century, the version with tuna and capers became established in Piedmont. Prepared in advance and served cold, it was an ideal dish before the widespread use of refrigerators: it was kept cool in the pantry.
The contemporary twist : Contemporary plating in a rosette, sauce dotted with a piping bag, crispy fried capers, and lemon zest — the understated elegance Rita loved.
Rita Levi-Montalcini · Charactorium
