R E C I P E S
Vitello Tonnato (Veal in Tuna Sauce)
Usually today, vitello tonnato takes the form of dry slices of veal accompanied by a tuna mayonnaise. The original, as here, called for marinating the veal slices in the tuna sauce. Serve with salad and bread.By Edward Behr
2 pounds (1 kilo) boneless veal, eye of loin or another tender cut that yields neat slices
a short inner celery stalk with leaves
several branches of fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1 onion, halved
1 carrot, peeled and cut in large pieces
2 salted anchovies, the filets cleaned of salt, stripped from the bones, and rinsed
¼ cup (25 gr) capers in salt, rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup (225 ml) excellent, fresh-tasting olive oil
4 ounces (100 gr) tuna in oil, drained
salt
another lemon, olives, and more capers, for garnish
Put the meat into a pot just large enough to hold it; add the celery, parsley, bay leaf, onion, and carrot and just enough water to cover. Cook at a low bubble, monitoring to be sure it doesn’t boil. Poach to an internal temperature of about 130° F (54° C), which with the gentlest poaching — the surface of the water is barely troubled — may take up to 2 hours. Cool the meat in the liquid, where its temperature will rise a few degrees more.
Put the anchovies, capers, lemon juice, oil, and tuna into the bowl of a mortar or food processor, and reduce them to a slightly coarse-textured sauce. Taste and season, if needed, with salt. Remove the cooled meat from the liquid, and slice it across the grain about ¼ inch (3 mm) thick. Thinly coat the bottom of a platter with sauce; on that arrange about a third of the slices of meat, without overlapping; cover with a little more sauce; and continue, making two more layers of meat with sauce and ending with a good coating of sauce. Cover with plastic and chill 24 hours. Garnish with slices of lemon, olives, and a scattering of rinsed capers. Serves 4 to 6.