Old-fashioned Veal with Tuna Sauce (Vitello Tonnato)
- Difficult
- 1 h 10 min
- Kcal 382
The turkey with tuna sauce is a revamped, more economical, and lighter version of the classic veal with tuna sauce, but just as tasty!
In this preparation, the meat is cooked slowly along with herbs and spices to absorb flavors, then served cold, sliced, and accompanied by a delicious tuna sauce, which makes this recipe truly delightful and perfect to be served as either an appetizer or a main course. For those who love stronger flavors, it's possible to sprinkle some balsamic vinegar on the turkey slices before drizzling with the sauce.
Try our recipe for pot-roasted turkey, an excellent alternative to oven roasting!
To prepare the turkey with tuna sauce, start by making the vegetable broth 1 (for an in-depth guide on how to prepare vegetable broth, you can follow the recipe found by clicking here). Take the turkey breast and tie it like a roast using kitchen twine (2-3) (to learn how to tie a roast, click here).
Now place the turkey in a pot with the carrot, celery, onion, rosemary, bay leaf, cloves 4, two tablespoons of oil 5, and a pinch of salt, then brown it well on all sides. Deglaze the meat with white wine 6 to enhance the flavor
and completely cover it with vegetable broth 7 (or, if you prefer, with water). Let the meat cook slowly for about 1 hour, covering with a lid 8. To check for doneness, poke the meat a quarter of an hour before the end of cooking: if a pink liquid comes out, it means the meat is still raw; continue cooking for another quarter of an hour. If the liquid is clear, the meat is cooked just right and you can turn off the heat. If no liquid comes out, the meat is too dry. Once cooked, turn off the heat and let the turkey cool, still covered, in its cooking juices (to prevent the meat from turning dark), then place it on a cutting board and remove the twine using scissors 9.
Now prepare the tuna sauce: hard boil three eggs in boiling water and cut them into small pieces (10-11), then take a large bowl and add the crumbled tuna, chopped anchovies 12,
capers, and eggs 13. Dilute everything with a little oil and a ladleful of the meat cooking broth 14, then blend using an immersion blender 15; this way, you will get a creamy and soft sauce (you can also perform this operation with a standard blender or mixer).
At this point, take the turkey and cut it into slices not too thick using a knife (or a slicer, if you have one available) 16. Arrange the slices obtained on a serving plate 17, garnish the turkey with the tuna sauce 18 and some capers: now your dish is ready to be served.