Vitello Tonnato Salad

Name: Vitello Tonnato Salad
Yield: Serves 6-8
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 large Ox Heart tomatoes or 6 Love Bite or truss tomatoes, cores removed; 200 ml extra virgin olive oil; 1.5 kg veal loin fillet, removed from the fridge 1 hour before cooking; 3-4 witlof, outer leaves discarded; 4 eggs, at fridge temperature; 2 x 210 g cans tuna in oil [preferably Ortiz brand] or 2 x 300 g cans tuna in oil [preferably Crespi brand], drained and flaked; ¼-⅓ cup salted capers, soaked in warm water, then rinsed and dried with paper towel; juice of 1-2 lemons; 60 g parmesan [preferably Parmigiano Reggiano], thinly shaved; 120 ml veal stock or chicken stock or water; 1 x 47.5 g can anchovy fillets [preferably Ortiz], drained and cut into 4 pieces each; 1 x 47.5 g can anchovy fillets [preferably Ortiz brand], drained and halved lengthwise; 180 g Ligurian olives, rinsed and dried with paper towel; sea salt and freshly ground white pepper; 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, washed and spin-dried, torn into smaller pieces; 250 ml water; extra virgin olive oil, for cooking; 2 handfuls small watercress sprigs, washed and spin-dried

Preparation info

Serves
6-8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Salades

By Damien Pignolet

Published 2010

About

Vitello tonnato is a classic dish from the Italian kitchen and just about everyone loves it. Traditionally, the eye of the silverside [girello] is poached but this cut can become rather dry if overcooked. The cold veal is thinly sliced and coated with a tuna-based mayonnaise, often enriched with anchovies and capers, then refrigerated for several hours or overnight. In researching the recipe I discovered many variations to the tuna sauce and found that, in some cases, roasted veal lo