Vitello Tonnato

Vitello Tonnato

Servings Makes 18
Author Simon Gault
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Total time
45 mins
This dish of rare veal with a creamy tuna sauce is an Italian classic… but serving it on croutes is a bit different from the way it’s usually presented. It might seem like an unusual combo, but it’s one that comes from the Italian gods.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Season veal with salt and pepper. Heat a quarter of the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add veal and cook, turning, until browned all over.
  3. Transfer veal to an oven tray and roast until medium-rare, or when it reaches an internal temperature of 55°C (15 minutes). Remove pan from oven (leave oven on, and reserve any juices) and place veal on a wire rack to cool. Slice thinly and set aside.
  4. Drain tuna (reserving water) and place in a food processor with the extra-virgin olive oil, anchovy, capers, lemon juice and pan juices. Process until creamy then combine with mayonnaise. If the mixture is too thick, stir in some of the reserved tuna water. Season with cayenne. Just before serving, fold in parsley.
  5. Cut 18 slices of ciabatta and place on a baking tray. Use a pastry brush to paint bread on both sides with remaining olive oil. Bake in oven until just starting to turn golden. Rub both sides of the croutes with garlic then bake for a further 8 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
  6. Spread tuna mix on each ciabatta croute. Top with veal slices then garnish with lemon zest, caperberries, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and serve.

Simon says ...

The secret weapon is a quality meat thermometer—it makes cooking meat so much easier.

dinner party, appetiser, entrée, finger food, veal, Modern Classics cookbook
starters, special occasions, entertaining, beef
Italian
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