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Vitello Tonnato is a classic Piemontese dish made with thinly sliced veal served with a tuna and caper mayonnaise sauce. It might sound like an odd combination but it’s one of my favourite things ever and it’s unbelievably delicious. It’s traditionally served both during the summer months and at Christmas time!
Vitello Tonnato is one of my favourite ever Italian dishes. Tender, perfectly cooked thin slices of veal served with the most umami, rich and utterly addictive tuna sauce.
It might seem like an odd combination to some but trust me on this, it’s a must-try.
Vitello Tonnato is eaten all year round in Italy and is often seen as an elegant dish to serve on special occasions, especially Christmas.
It’s traditionally served cold, at room temperature (not fridge cold) so it’s also a popular dish to serve during the summer months.
Whenever I’ve had this in a restaurant in Italy it’s been served with a mayonnaise-based sauce which is very common but traditionally the sauce was made using hard-boiled eggs blitzed with some veal broth.
Both sauces are really delicious but I slightly prefer the mayo version. My mother-in-law combines both hard-boiled eggs with mayo for a mix of the two. We’ve provided both sauces for you to try (see the recipe card), they’re both really easy but I highly recommend making the mayo version….it’s just soo delicious and perfect for dunking roast potatoes into.
Ingredients
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Pin ItIngredient notes and substitutions
- Veal topside or eye of round – it’s so worth finding veal for this recipe especially if it’s for a special occasion but a good substitute would be pork loin. Some modern versions of Vitello Tonnato roast the meat instead of poaching it which you can do if you prefer.
- Veg – garlic, onion, carrot and celery to add flavour to the veal.
- Herbs – bay leaf, parsley and rosemary (must be fresh) some variations also add sage.
- Cloves and black peppercorns – we like to use 3-4 cloves, I find any more to be overpowering.
- Tuna – this is the most important ingredient for a good sauce. You must use tuna canned in olive oil and a good quality brand if possible. If you don’t use tuna canned in olive oil the sauce will have a grainy texture.
- Mayonaise – use a mayo you love…we used Hellman’s.
- Capers – in brine.
- Anchovies – even if you don’t like anchovies don’t skip them because they add a lot of umami flavour (not fishy).
Step by step photos and instructions
This is a visual guide to help you with each step. For the full written recipe, ingredient amounts and tips scroll to the recipe card below.
- Prep – cut the carrot, celery and onion in half and insert the cloves into one half of the onion. Add them to a large stock pot with the water, parsley, bay, rosemary and garlic (photo 1).
- Cook the veal – bring the water to a boil. Rub salt over the veal then add it to the boiling water. Turn it down to a simmer and cover leaving the lid a jar. Simmer for 40 minutes then remove to a cutting board, wrap it in foil and let it cool completely (photos 2 and 3).
- Make the sauce – add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor (or use an immersion blender) and blitz until smooth (photos 4 and 5).
- Slice and serve – when the veal is at room temperature, thinly slice it with a sharp knife and arrange it on a serving plate. Spread over the sauce and top with more capers and freshly chopped parsley as garnish (photo 6).
Serving suggestions
In Italy, Vitello Tonnato can be served as an appetizer or a ‘secondo’ (main course). See our favourite ways to serve it below.
- As an antipasto – arrange thin layers of veal on a plate (one platter or individual small plates) covered generously with the tuna sauce and topped with more capers or caper berries as garnish. You can also serve it alongside some crusty bread to mop up extra sauce.
- with salad – for a light lunch during summer you can serve it with some arugula drizzle with olive oil and pepper (or even a squeeze of lemon juice).
- As a main course (secondo) – my favourite way to serve it is with sides especially roast potatoes which are great for dunking in the sauce and green beans served with just a little olive oil and black pepper. Other popular sides are roasted or steamed veg or spinach.
More Piedmontese recipes to try
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Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)
Equipment
- Kitchen string
Ingredients
- 1.9 lbs (850g) veal topside or eye of round, tied
- 1 gallon (4 litres) cold water
- 1 onion
- 1 stick celery
- 1 large carrot
- 1 bunch fresh parsley with stalks
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary sprig
- 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
- 4 cloves
- 6 peppercorns
- 1 fresh garlic clove
For the sauce
- 5.6 oz (110g) canned tuna in olive oil, we used Rio Mare
- ½ cup (90g) good quality mayonnaise
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1.5 tablespoons (20g) capers in brine, drained
Garnish
- Capers or caper berries, optional
- Freshly chopped parsley, optional
Instructions
Prep
- Trim any silverskin from the veal then tie it with kitchen string to keep it intact. Sprinkle salt over the veal, set aside.
- Cut the carrot and celery in two and peel the onion. Insert the cloves into the onion then cut in half. Fill a large stock pot with water and add all the veg with the peppercorns, garlic bay, rosemary and parsley.
Cook
- Bring the water to a boil then dd the whole piece of veal. Turn it down to a simmer and cover the pot leaving the lid a jar and let the veal poach for 40 minutes.
- Remove the veal to a cutting board or plate, wrap it in foil and let it cool completely.
To make the sauce
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth and creamy. We like to use a container and an immersion blender to get it extra smooth.
To serve
- When the veal is cold (room temp), cut it into slices as thinly as you can. Arrange the slices of veal on plates or a platter and top with the tuna sauce.
- Add some capers or caperberries and freshly chopped parsley on top as garnish and serve.
Notes
- Storage – The veal tastes even better the next day. Once cooled completely, wrap it in foil and keep it refrigerated overnight. Bring it to room temperature before serving. Once cooked the veal will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The sauce can also be made in advance (up to 2 days prior) just make sure to bring the sauce to room temperature before serving.
- Veal alternative – if you can’t find veal you can use pork loin or even pork tenderloin which will be extra tender but will require a lot less cooking time. Turkey breast is also another good alternative.
- Alternative sauce – instead of using mayo you can blitz all the sauce ingredients with 2 hard-boiled eggs. Use the veal broth to emulsify it into a sauce.
- Roasting – instead of poaching you can roast the veal/pork or turkey instead.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for sharing with us all these lovely recipies. One thing that, I think would help everyone, is to know how many people each of your dishes serve.
Thank you again and Merry Christmas to you!
Ciao Marilena, the servings are at the top of the recipe card next to the cook and prep times. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!