Our Supper Club kicked of its 3rd year running with a regional, Italian-themed dinner on Saturday evening. I spent the day making one of my favorite (and rather unusual) dishes: vitello tonnato from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. Oh how I love this dish! I hate to tell people what it is — veal in tuna sauce — as it sounds very weird to the American ear and dining palate. Don’t let the description scare you, it’s divine.
First, a hunk o’ veal is braised slowly in white wine, herbs, chunks of onions and shredded, top-quality Italian tuna. Yep, braised in Italian tuna.
Veal submerged under onions
After the veal bath, the meat is then cooled and coated with a homemade, mayonnaise-based sauce. It tastes so decadent and rich, it’s hard to believe it isn’t filled with butter and cream. The sauce is simply comprised of egg yolks, olive oil, veal broth, caper juice, lemon juice and, yep, you guessed it, Italian tuna. The whole thing is whipped into oblivion and tastes just like summer. If you are even remotely adventurous in the food department, I urge you to try this dish.
This dish was also super easy to bring to the Supper Club dinner as it can be made ahead of time and there is no last-minute prep. The vitello tonnato was the first course in our multi-course Italian meal. The hosts kicked off the dinner with a platter of roasted eggplant and tomatoes with fresh, homemade bread. A fabulous, herb-crusted pork loin and pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil rounded out the meal. To finish? A spectacular tiramisu, of course. Once again, another successful Supper Club adventure.
Dining With DINKS 