Vitello Tonnato
Preparazione 30 min · Cottura 1 h · Riposo 4 h · Porzioni 6 · Difficoltà Media
Procedimento
Put the veal in a snug pot with the wine, onion, carrot, celery, and a teaspoon of salt. Cover with cold water by two fingers, bring barely to a simmer, and skim.
10 min
Poach at the gentlest possible simmer until an instant-read thermometer shows 62 to 65 C at the center, 45 to 50 minutes. The water should shiver, never boil.
50 min
Turn off the heat and let the veal cool completely in its broth, ideally to room temperature and then refrigerated. This keeps it rosy and seasoned.
2 h
Hard-cook the eggs (9 minutes from boiling), cool, and peel. Keep the yolks for the sauce.
12 min
Blend the tuna, anchovies, capers, egg yolks, and lemon juice, streaming in the olive oil and then a few spoonfuls of the cooled poaching broth until the sauce is smooth, pale, and pourable. Season carefully; the anchovies and capers carry salt.
8 min
Slice the cold veal as thinly as you can with a long sharp knife, almost carpaccio-thin, and shingle the slices on a wide platter.
10 min
Coat the veal with the sauce, cover, and rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (overnight is traditional). Garnish with whole capers and serve cool, not ice-cold.
1 h
I consigli della nonna
Consigli in cucina
The broth is the secret. Loosen the sauce with poaching broth rather than more oil. It ties the sauce to the meat and keeps it light enough to pour.
Slice cold, serve cool. Chill the veal thoroughly before slicing; a cold roast cuts thin without tearing. Then let the dressed platter lose its refrigerator chill before serving.
The nineteenth-century version contains no mayonnaise. If your sauce tastes flat, the fix is another anchovy, not more lemon.
