‘Today, I have reinterpreted the dish I remember from my Italian upbringing’
Vitello Tonnato
Matteo revisits a dish from his native Italy, one of two extremes: the well-cooked veal, and the rare tuna, in this interpretation of vitello tonnato
9 February 2016
I
FIRST LEARNED to cook the traditional vitello tonnato – veal with tuna and a caper sauce – when I worked in a normal Italian restaurant when I was younger. Today, with the knowledge, techniques and experience I have accumulated over the years, I have reinterpreted the dish I remember from my Italian upbringing.
Keeping the same ingredients and the same flavours, the dish is transformed with modern techniques, adding a variety of textures. Stewed veal shank, veal cream and veal glaze join slices of Bluefin tuna, a Bluefin tuna tartar and a Bluefin tuna belly sauce. Capers, a caviar of sesame oil and croutons provide the finishing touches.
There are two main products in this dish, two completely different ways of cooking – the tuna is completely rare, and the veal well done. These are two complete extremes. The iconic flavours of vitello tonnato, however, remain.
