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Italian

Vitello tonnato

Non-vegetarian

Thin slices of cold poached veal covered in a creamy sauce of tuna, anchovy, capers and mayonnaise. A Piedmontese summer antipasto.

Vitello tonnato is an Italian starter from Italy, ready in about 4 hours 20 minutes and made with veal cutlet, canned tuna and capers. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Thin slices of veal covered in creamy tuna sauce with capers
Photo: cyclonebill from Copenhagen, Denmark / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h
Rest
3 h
Total
4 h 20 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
352

Ingredients

6 servings

For the sauce

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Bring the water, wine, vegetables, bay and salt to a simmer. Add the veal (opens in a new tab) and poach very gently until the centre reaches about 60 °C, roughly 50–60 minutes.

    Food safety: Use a thermometer and chill the meat quickly after cooking.

  2. Step 2

    Cool the veal (opens in a new tab) in its liquid, then refrigerate until cold – ideally overnight.

    • Step 3

      Blend the tuna, anchovies (opens in a new tab), capers (opens in a new tab), mayonnaise (opens in a new tab) and lemon juice (opens in a new tab) with 3–4 tablespoons of the poaching liquid to a smooth sauce that pours like thick cream.

    • Step 4

      Slice the cold veal (opens in a new tab) very thinly, arrange overlapping on a platter, cover with the sauce and scatter with capers (opens in a new tab). Chill for an hour before serving if you can.

      • 10 min
      Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
      How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Piedmont, Italy · Well documentedAlso popular in ArgentinaMore food from Italy
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Appetizers & starters · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Poached, Blended
    Taste
    savoury, creamy, tangy
    Diet
    No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Pork-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Make-ahead · Festive & celebration
    Cook more with
    Veal cutlet · Canned tuna · Capers · Dry white wine · Onion · Carrot
    Techniques
    Simmering · Poaching · Wet grinding · Emulsification

    Allergens

    • Contains: Eggsfrom mayonnaise
    • Contains: Fishfrom canned tuna, anchovies
    • May contain: Mustardfrom mayonnaise
    • Contains: Celeryfrom celery
    • Contains: Sulphitesfrom dry white wine

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    352 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 227 g · recipe makes 6

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 40%
    • Carbohydrate 4%
    • Fat 56%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy352 kcal155 kcal
    Protein34.6 g15.2 g
    Carbohydrate3.5 g1.5 g
    Net carbohydrate2.7 g1.2 g
    Sugars1.6 g0.7 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre0.8 g0.4 g
    Fat21.9 g9.7 g
    Saturated fat4.1 g1.8 g
    Trans fat0.2 g0.1 g
    Cholesterol94 mg41 mg
    Sodium865 mg381 mg
    Salt equivalent2.2 g1 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    500 mg
    Calcium
    28 mg
    Iron
    1.7 mg
    Magnesium
    52 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    93 µg
    Vitamin C
    3 mg
    Vitamin D
    1.1 µg
    Vitamin B12
    3.3 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    17 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Slicing is easiest when the meat is fridge-cold and your knife is long and very sharp.

    Common mistakes

    • Boiling the veal instead of poaching it gently, which makes it dry and grey.

    Food safety

    • Chill the poached veal within 2 hours and keep the finished dish refrigerated; don't leave it out for more than 2 hours.
    • Shop-bought mayonnaise is made with pasteurised egg; if making your own, use pasteurised eggs.

    Storage

    • Keeps 2 days refrigerated, covered.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    • Veal cutlet, one piece of topside or eye of round, tied800 g
    • Carrot, chunked1 piece · 60 g
    Used in step 1

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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