Veal with tuna sauce recipe (vitella tonnato)

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and seal the veal on all sides until lightly golden. Transfer to a plate.

Pour a little more oil into the pan and add the veal trimmings, vegetables and herbs. Cook until the trimmings are well browned.

Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and add the anchovies, vinegar, wine, clove, juniper berries and the veal girello. Add enough stock to cover the veal. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20–30 minutes, until the veal is just cooked. (To check, remove to a plate and insert a skewer – the juices should run clear.)

Once the veal is removed, boil the stock until reduced by half. Stir in the lemon juice then strain the stock through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

To make the sauce, puree the eggs and tuna in a blender, then add the capers and lemon juice and blend briefly. Slowly add the oil with the machine going, then slowly add enough cooled veal stock to make a creamy sauce a little thinner than mayonnaise.

Slice the cooled veal as thinly as you can. Spread half the sauce over the bottom of a serving dish and cover with the veal slices. Spread with the remaining sauce.

To serve, garnish each helping with about 4 baby capers, 2 lemon segments, 3 rocket leaves, some shaved parmigiano reggiano and a sprinkle of parsley.

SBS cook’s notes Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60 g, unless specified.