Authentic Italian Vitello Tonnato (Veal with Tuna Sauce)

Vitello Tonnato is one of the great classics of Piedmontese cuisine. Known locally as Vitel Tonné, this elegant dish combines thin slices of tender veal with a silky tuna and caper sauce — a combination that surprises almost everyone tasting it for the first time.

Living in Liguria, just next to Piedmont, I often cook recipes from both regions. My kitchen is deeply inspired by the traditions of northwestern Italy, where mountain and sea meet within just a few kilometres.

While Ligurian cuisine is famous for fresh seafood, pesto and simple Mediterranean flavors, Piedmont is known for its refined meat dishes, rich sauces and timeless recipes like Vitello Tonnato.

One of the things I love most about this sauce is how versatile it is.

Although it was created to accompany veal, here in Liguria you’ll often find a lighter variation served with grilled fresh tuna. Instead of beef broth, the sauce is prepared with a splash of white wine, making it the perfect companion for tuna steaks that are quickly seared on the outside while remaining beautifully pink and tender inside.

If you’d like to try this coastal variation, you’ll also find my Tuna Tonnato recipe here on the blog.

As for the traditional version, there’s an old Italian saying:

If you want a flavorful broth, start the meat in cold water. If you want delicious boiled meat, place it into boiling broth.

That’s exactly why I gently cook the beef in a fragrant vegetable broth before slicing it thinly and covering it with this wonderfully creamy tuna sauce.

Authentic Italian Vitello Tonnato

Tender beef with creamy tuna sauce from Piedmont.

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Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian, Piemonte

Ingredients

  

For the meat

• 500 gr beef roast top round or eye of round
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stalk
• bay leaf
• white pepper
• rosemary
• thyme
• salt

For the tuna sauce

• 150 gr canned tuna in olive oil
• 2 anchovy fillets preserved in olive oil
• 100 gr mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp capers
• 50 ml beef broth
• salt

Instructions

 

Cook the beef

• Prepare the vegetable broth by placing the onion, carrot and celery into a large pot (whole or roughly chopped) together with the herbs and spices.

  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

  Lower the tied beef into the boiling broth (Photo 1). Cook until tender, about 50 minutes (Photo 2), removing any foam that forms on the surface.

  Transfer the cooked beef to a sheet of aluminum foil, wrap it well and allow it to cool completely.

  Reserve about one cup of the cooking broth for the sauce.
  

Vitello Tonnato Sauce

• Drain the tuna completely and place it into a blender (Photo 3).

  Add the capers (Photo 4).

  Rinse the anchovy fillets under cold running water to remove excess salt, pat them dry with paper towels, then add them to the blender (Photo 5).

  Add the mayonnaise (Photo 6).
  
• Pour in one ladle of the reserved beef broth (Photo 7).

  Since the anchovies are already quite salty, wait until the end before adding any extra salt.

  Once all the ingredients are in the blender (Photo 8), blend until perfectly smooth and creamy (Photo 9).

  If necessary, add a little more broth to reach a silky consistency.
  

How to Serve

• Unwrap the cooled beef (Photo 10), remove the kitchen twine and slice it very thinly with a sharp knife (Photo 11).

  Arrange the slices on a serving platter (Photo 12).
  
• Spread the tuna sauce generously over the meat and serve immediately (Photo 13).
  

Keyword beef, meat, tuna