In cuisine, as anywhere in arts and science, we should strive to advance. We’re not talking about those colourful dots and dashes smeared on a plate, which try to pass off for sophisticated cuisine.  We’re talking about in depth work on recipes and their ingredients. This Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 is a perfect example.

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After banning mayonnaise a few years back, then boosting the quality of veal, capers and yoghurt,, we at Tablonomie thought we’d reached a plateau.  But voilà, here’s our Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 – recipe in English. Updated again, lighter and even more exquisite.

This year, we focused on the tuna. Whereas previously, the recipe specified canned tuna, sous-vide fresh tuna significantly enriches its taste and increases the share of fresh ingredients to almost 100 percent.

You’ll require a pan which can accommodate the veal, a sous-vide cooker and a food processor. A slicer makes for neat presentation but is not essential.

INGREDIENTS

For the meat :

• 900 g veal loin. Be sure to ask your butcher for fat-free, sinew-free meat!
• 1 glass of dry white wine
• a bouquet garni
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk
• half an onion
• a few chives
• a few sprigs of thyme
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• two sheets of parchment paper and some string

For sauce and decoration:

• 200 g fresh, sustainably fished tuna steak from a trustworthy fishmonger. Albacore is not overfished
• sea salt and, if available, MSG
• veal stock from the previous day (see below)
• extra-virgin Italian olive oil
• ca. 200 g unsweetened Greek yoghurt
• 50g organic capers with salt only, rinsed (available online here or here and from good grocers)
• 2-3 pinches of Modernist Fish spice mix
• salt, freshly ground pepper
• 50 g caper berries, rinsed. Or use caper leaves (optional, for decoration)
• slices of lemon or orange (optional, to garnish)

PREPARATION (Vitello Tonnato naturale 2025 – recipe in English, STEP BY STEP)

1 The day before, carefully clean celery, carrot and onion (do not peel). Chop coarsely. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to boil, then add the vegetables, the bouquet garni and the wine. Let it simmer for around 30 minutes. Meanwhile, lay down a double layer of parchment paper and place the meat in the middle. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chives and thyme. Fold  the parchment paper and tie well.

2 Lower the meat into the pan and gently simmer for around 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a good hour in the stock. Lift the ‘parcel’ out without unwrapping it, drain on a wire rack and cool completely. Leave in the fridge overnight. Keep the pan stock in the fridge as well.

3 Ahead of serving, brine the tuna for 15 minutes in cold water with 5% sea salt (or, better still, 4.5% salt and 0.5% MSG), rinse and drain. Coat it with a thin layer of olive oil, salt, pepper and 2-3 pinches of Fish spice mix. Place in a sous-vide bag and insert into your sous-vide bath. Cook for approximately 45 minutes @ 54°C – the tuna needs to be well done*. Let it to cool completely, out of the bag but covered.

4 Blend the capers, break up the tuna up and add to the blender. Add veal stock in small doses, blending until you obtain a paste. Pour in one or two tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer this paste to a bowl and gently stir in the yoghurt, one tablespoon at a time. Mix by hand, with a spatula – the paste will turn into a fairly thick sauce. Continue to carefully incorporate yoghurt, stock and oil until you reach your preferred consistency. Season.

5 Unwrap the meat and slice. Set thickness according to preference. Arrange on a serving dish or directly on plates, coat generously with sauce and decorate with citrus slices as well as a few caper berries or caper leaves. Serve the remaining sauce separately.

*Approx. 15 min. per cm of thickness

TIP  Careful when incorporating veal stock and Greek yoghurt : only small quantities at a time – this will prevent the sauce from becoming too runny, as you won’t be able to correct. That’s why we use Greek yoghurt, which, by nature, is strained.

NOTES

• Serve on its own as a starter. As a main course, serve with risoni (or tajarin,  if you’re willing to compromise your diet ! ). Long-grain rice will also work well.
• The leftover stock makes excellent veal stock. Reduce and freeze.
• You can easily double the ingredients for the sauce. Should there be any left, serve over slices of grilled eggplant.
• The salt for the brine dissolves faster if added to warm water. Leave to cool.

WINE

White wine from Piedmont, where Vitello Tonnato hails from: a Gavi or a Roero Arneis .  Available online or at your local Italian grocer.  Unoaked Chardonnay or lager are alternatives. If you prefer a red wine, Barbera is a perfect match.

Tableware: Secla Portugal plates.

This recipe – though published previously in April 2021, 2022 and 2024 – has been substantially modified.

Photo © c.m. 2022

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