Name: Vitello tonnato
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil; 2 kg piece of veal rump; 4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped; 1 onion, quartered; 3 fresh bay leaves; 4 sage leaves; 2 thyme sprigs; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 150 ml dry white wine; To serve: coarsely torn basil and lemon wedges; Tonnato; 2 egg yolks; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 5 anchovy fillets, plus extra to serve; 250 ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil; 200 gm canned tuna in olive oil, drained; 1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed

Vitello tonnato

Australian Gourmet Traveller Italian veal recipe for vitello tonnato.

Serves 8

Prep

15M

Cook

1H 40M

Total

1H 55M

For a more traditional vitello tonnato, steep the sliced veal in the tonnato sauce overnight before serving.

Ingredients

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

2 kg piece of veal rump

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 onion, quartered

3 fresh bay leaves

4 sage leaves

2 thyme sprigs

1 tbsp black peppercorns

150 ml dry white wine

To serve: coarsely torn basil and lemon wedges

Tonnato

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp lemon juice

5 anchovy fillets, plus extra to serve

250 ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

200 gm canned tuna in olive oil, drained

1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed

Method

Main

1.Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add veal rump and turn often until browned (6-8 minutes), remove from pan and set aside.

2.Combine celery, onion, herbs, peppercorns and wine with 3 litres cold water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Add veal, top up with water to cover if required, reduce heat to low and simmer until veal is tender (1¼-1½ hours). Remove from heat and cool veal in liquid.

3.Meanwhile, for tonnato, process yolks, lemon juice and anchovies in a food processor until smooth then, with motor running, add oil in a thin, steady stream. Add half the tuna and half the capers, pulse to just combine, then fold through remaining tuna, set aside.

4.Heat remaining oil in a small frying pan, add remaining capers and fry over medium heat until crisp (1-2 minutes), strain through a metal sieve (discard oil), drain on absorbent paper and set aside.

5.Remove veal from liquid (discard liquid) and slice into 5mm-thick pieces. Arrange on a platter, spoon over tonnato, scatter with fried capers, extra anchovies and torn basil and serve with lemon wedges.