Vitello Tonnato Cold Veal With Tuna Sauce Food

VITELLO TONNATO: CHILLED VEAL IN TUNA-CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the veal in a large, nonreactive bowl with the bay leaves, cloves (if using), sage, and celery; pour the wine over. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally.
• The next day, transfer the meat to a Dutch oven. Strain the spices and celery out of the wine, then add the wine to the Dutch oven, plus enough water to cover the meat.
• Add a little salt and simmer the meat for 1 hour.
• In the meantime, wash, scale, and bone the anchovies.
• When the hour is up, add the anchovies to the pot and continue simmering for another 30 minutes; the liquid should be reduced by half.
• Place the eggs in a small pot with 1 inch of cold water to cover. Bring the water just to a rolling boil, then cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes to hard-boil the eggs. Drain the eggs, rinse them under cold water, then let them sit in cold water for a few minutes until cool enough to peel.
• Separate the yolks from the whites. (The whites will not be used in this recipe; you may discard them or set them aside for another purpose.)
• Rinse, dry, and finely mince the capers.
• When the meat is fork-tender, remove it from the heat. Strain the broth into a bowl.
• Transfer the anchovy fillets to a food processor; add the tuna, hard-boiled yolks, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and process until creamy. Dilute the sauce to taste with some of the reserved broth and process again. Stir in the minced capers.
• When the veal has cooled, slice it thinly and lay the slices out on one or more platters. Spread the sauce over the meat and garnish the platters with the lemon slices, capers, and parsley. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator before serving.
• Enjoy.

TONNATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Blend tuna with reserved oil, mayonnaise, anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and garlic together in a blender until completely smooth. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.

TURKEY TONNATO (TURKEY WITH TUNA SAUCE)

Steps:

• Cut the turkey breast across the grain into thin slices, about 1/8-inch thick.
• Put the drained tuna and capers into the container of a food processor or blender and blend.
• Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, anchovies and broth. Blend thoroughly.
• Spoon about a 1/4 cup of the sauce into a serving dish and smooth it over.
• Arrange a 1/4 of the turkey slices, slightly overlapping, over the sauce.
• Spoon another layer of sauce on top.
• Add another layer of turkey slices and more sauce.
• Continue making layers until all the turkey slices are used.
• Finish with a layer of sauce.
• Garnish the top symmetrically with lemon slices, black olives, and parsley.
• Serve any additional sauce on the side.

VITELLO TONNATO (COLD VEAL WITH TUNA SAUCE)

Steps:

• For the veal place the meat, carrots, onions, celery, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns in a fairly snug pot and add water to cover.
• Cover and simmer for one hour. Check from time to time to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom.
• Let cool in the cooking liquid for one hour.
• Cover the veal with a plate and 2 lb weight and cool completely in the cooking liquid. (The purpose of weighing down the meat is to insure compact slices when cut. I usually omit this step because I don't have a kitchen weight.).
• Store in refrigerator until assembly. If you feel creative, you could make something good with the broth; otherwise, it is discarded.
• For the tuna sauce whip the mayonnaise, tuna, anchovy fillets, onion, and lemon juice at high speed in the processor fitted with a steel blade.
• With the motor running add the milk in a thin stream until the desired consistency is reached. It should be thick but pourable.
• For the assembly remove and discard any remaining bits of rubbery membrane on the veal and slice it thinly, no more than 1/4 inch thick. If some of the slices crumble, don't despair. It will still be good.
• Smear 1/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a rimmed platter (I prefer glass).
• Place the veal slices in slightly overlapping circles in the platter, and cover generously and completely with the sauce.
• If you have more veal you can add another layer; just be sure that all is covered by the sauce.
• (If you have more sauce than you need (it is tasty), you can combine it with cubed cooked cold chicken, turkey, or fish, or pour it over cold hard-boiled eggs.).
• The dish should cool in the refrigerator for several hours or up to 2-3 days, covered with plastic wrap.
• Before serving sprinkle on the capers, optional parsley, and garnish with the lemon slices, if desired.