Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)
Vitello tonnato is one of the Italian signature dishes, usually served as a starter, and is quite, quite delicious. If you really like it, serve it as a main course with maybe a bean and tomato salad.
Ingredients
- 1 piece of fillet of veal
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bouquet garni of mixed herbs
- 1 jar (400 grams) mayonnaise (it's not worth making your own for this one)
- 1 tin (200 grams) good quality tuna in olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Pepper
- Salt
- 1 small jar of single cream (in reserve)
Steps
- Simmer veal about 15 minutes in water with bay leaves and bouquet garni.
- Remove from water. Wrap in clingfilm or aluminium foil. Refrigerate 3 hours until quite cool, preferably overnight. Do not proceed while veal is even slightly warm.
- Blend mayonnaise and tin of tuna to smooth paste.
- Add lemon juice, a large pinch of pepper and a normal pinch of salt. Blend again.
- Add a few spoonfuls of cream until sauce is pourable, neither runny nor stiff.
- Unwrap veal. Slice as thin as possible with sharp knife. Arrange on large serving dish. Optionally cover slices with foil and pound with mallet to thin.
- Pour sauce over veal to cover completely, neither too thick nor too thin.
- Decorate with capers. Grind red pepper on top if desired. Serve.
Notes from the original
- You can decorate the dish using fresh pomegranate seeds and maybe some edible herb leaves here and there.
- If you have an issue with using veal, you can roast a piece of beef so it's rare, or even go to the deli counter and buy some rare roast beef and use that in place of the veal. Raw steak is also quite delicious
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-17, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.






