There are those who often confuse him for a typical dish of French cuisine. But this is not the case at all. The vitello tonnato it is actually a symbol of Piedmontese tradition, easy to prepare at any latitude.

The origins of vitello tonnato

He was probably born in the Cuneo area in the 1700s, although the claim to paternity is also in nearby Lombardy and Veneto. And unlike what you can imagine the name, the tuna, at least at first, with this recipe it had nothing to do. tonne, in fact, derives from the French Tanne, which meant tanned and initially indicated a poor dish, prepared exclusively with the remains of veal, boiled for a long time to make it as soft as possible. Only with the passing of the decades, the vitello tonnato recipe has become more and more similar to the current one. Pellegrino Artusi, in his book The science of cooking and the art of eating well, dated 1891, prescribed "milk veal, in the thigh or in the culaccio", seasoned with anchovies and then boiled "with two cloves, a bay leaf, celery, carrot and parsley". The meat was then cut into thin slices and kept "infused for a day or two" in a sauce based on anchovies, tuna in oil, lemon, oil and capers.

What is needed for the traditional recipe

That of the greatest Italian gastronomist of all time, therefore, is a cold preparation, typically summer. For the traditional and more widespread, easy and quick recipe, you need to get a pound and a half of veal walker, 300 grams of tuna in oil, three hard-boiled eggs, six anchovies in oil and a stalk of celery. Also, it is important to keep white wine vinegar, dry white wine, bay leaves, sage, cloves, capers and pickled gherkins, lemon, salt and olive oil on hand.

Preparation of veal with tuna sauce

First, place the walker in a bowl and cover it with the White wine. Then scent everything with the chopped celery, two bay leaves, six of sage and three cloves. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place to marinate in fridge for at least twelve hours. Subsequently transfer the walker into a saucepan, cover it with the marinade and fill the container with plenty of water, so that it is abundantly covered. Add the salt and put to boil for an hour. Drain, but keep two ladles of cooking water, and leave to cool; then put everything in the fridge for another hour. Meanwhile blend the drained tuna with egg yolks, a generous spoonful of capers, lemon juice, anchovies, half a glass of oil and a tablespoon of vinegar. Add the two ladles of water kept aside to the tuna sauce. cut the meat a very thin slices and arrange them on the plates. All that remains is to cover everything with the sauce and complete with some capers, accompanying with pickled gherkins to taste.