Gourmet Vitello Tonnato with Cocoa Nibs

The origins of Vitel Tonné 

To trace the origins of Vitello Tonnato, we have to go back in time to the 18th century when, in the Cuneo area, a tasty dish with veal that had been “tanned” (hence the term “tonné”, which comes from the French “tanné”), i.e., boiled for a long time to make it very tender, was very popular. 

Over the centuries, the recipe has evolved, incorporating other ingredients such as tuna, capers, anchovies and mayonnaise, all while remaining an absolute classic of Piedmontese cuisine.  

 

Vitel Tonné: a traditional Piedmontese dish 

Some don't marinate the meat, some add stale bread to make the sauce thicker, some replace lemon with vinegar. Each family has its own version, and before revealing the Venchi version, which is a delightful alternative to the Gourmet Fassona Tartare, we want to revisit the original recipe for Vitello Tonnato, made the traditional Piedmontese way. 

  

Which meat to use for Vitel Tonné 

Of all the ingredients for vitel tonné, the meat is the most important, which is why you have to be careful when choosing the cut to use: round of veal is a very fine cut and definitely the most suitable for this recipe because it's the leanest and most tender part of the leg. Alternatively, you can use the chuck, which is a slightly fattier and tastier cut, or the fillet. 

 

Preparation time: 1 hour and 30 minutes + cooling time for the meat

Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients for tuna sauce 

• 250 g drained tuna 

• 6 anchovy fillets 

• 3 hard-boiled eggs 

• 15 ml white vinegar 

• 25 g capers 

• 10 ml lemon juice 

• 1 glass of meat stock 

 

Cooking and preparing vitello tonnato 

• Fill a large pan with water and add plenty of carrot, celery and onion. 

• When it comes to the boil, add salt and immerse the veal together with a bay leaf and a few cloves, then leave to simmer for around an hour. 

• Once cooked, remove the veal from the pan and leave to cool completely before cutting into thin slices using either an electric knife or a long-bladed knife. 

• In the meantime, prepare the Vitello Tonnato sauce by putting the drained tuna, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, desalted capers, lemon juice and a glass of meat stock into a blender. Blend everything at top speed until smooth and, if the sauce is too thick, add another tablespoon of the cooking juice. If it's too runny, add a little tuna or another handful of capers. 

 

The last step of the recipe involves putting the dish together directly on the plate, where you elegantly arrange the slices of meat and top them one by one with a generous spoonful of sauce. Alternatively, if you’d like to serve it in a different way, you can make original individual portions by pouring a little sauce in the middle of each slice of meat, then creating small bundles by tying them with a chive. 

 

Cocoa nibs: a gourmet touch on top of your vitel tonné 

If you have guests over for dinner and want to delight them with a delicious and original version, try Venchi’s gourmet version of Vitello Tonnato, which includes fine cocoa nibs. The raw product, i.e. the delicious nibs, are obtained directly from the cocoa beans, which are crushed, roasted and peeled. 

After cooking the veal, finely chop the meat with a knife to make a coarse tartare, then mix in the tuna sauce. Finally, make small patties with the mixture and cover them with chocoviar microspheres: the result is kind of like a sweet, crunchy breadcrumb coating that gives the vitel tonné an unusual and unforgettable twist!