Roast Beef Tonnato
Starter or Main Course
Feeds 8-10 as Starter
Cook Time: 60 Minutes
Difficulty: Medium
This is a dish that always sounds a little bit bonkers - a combination a bit strange but it’s an absolute classic Italian dish, its totally delicious - and you have to just go into it with an open mind! It’s a bit of a game changing combo and something your guests definitely won’t expect!
It’s basically beef in a tuna sauce - a kind of tuna mayo to be precise! I know right, sounds weird……go with me on this one!
Traditionally its served with Veal, called Vitello Tonnato but veal has a funny reputation over here. There is some really sustainable and cruelty free veal available - and some great produce local to Shropshire, but I have chosen to go with beef - and it is just as delicious!
This is also a brilliant way to use up leftover beef - great with cold cuts and amazing on the buffet table. Like I said, your guests will think that you are crazy until they try it, then you’ll be known a culinary genius!
I have chosen topside as my cut of beef - that’s just a personal preference. This works with any cut that can be sliced and served cold. I find topside gives the best value for money but any part of the rump, silverside, striploin, rib, fillet - it all works fine - use what you enjoy eating!
INGREDIENTS:
900g Beef Topside (Approx)
3 Egg Yolks
1 Tin Tuna, drained
3 Anchovies
1 Tsp Capers
1/2 Lemon, Juice only
125g Olive Oil (approx)
Small Handful Parsley Leaves
Salt & Pepper to taste
To serve:
Handful of Peppery Leaves (Rocket, Watercress or Nasturtium)
METHOD:
Preheat your oven to 180C
Rub the beef all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper all over
Place a frying pan on the hob on a high heat. Once hot, sear the beef on all sides. Try to sear each side for no longer than 20 seconds - you are trying to seal the meat and get some nice brown caramelisation on the outside - but you’ll get some more of this in the oven
Once seared on all sides, transfer the beef onto a wire rack or trivet in a roasting tray - you want to lift the meat off the base of the tray so that air can circulate and it can cook evenly. If you haven’t got a rack/trivet, roughly chop some onions and carrots and place these in the base of the tray to form a platform for the beef to sit on
Place the beef in the pre-heated oven and roast until the internal temperature reaches around 35-40C for a nice rare/medium-rare finish (nice and pink) - cook it for longer if you prefer your beef more cooked. If you don’t have a temperature probe, cook if for around 20 minutes per 500g
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave on the rack to rest/cool. We are serving this cold!
To make the tonnato sauce - add the egg yolks, drained tuna, anchovies, capers, lemon juice and parsley leaves to a food processor and add a pinch of salt and pepper (or jug if using a stick blender) - blend into a paste. Slowly start to add the the olive oil in a fine stream, as slowly as possible to form an emulsion - exactly the same as if you were making a normal mayonnaise.
Keep adding the oil slowly until you get a creamy sauce with the consistency of a thin, pourable mayonnaise.
Taste and adjust the sauce with salt, pepper and lemon juice if required
Once the beef has fully cooled, slice as thick or thinly as you wish, pile onto a plate (as fancily or unfancily as you wish) and top with plenty of the tonnato sauce.
I serve mine with some extra capers and some strong, peppery leaves - rocket, watercress or nasturtium are great but any leaves will help finish the dish off! The bit of green helps lift the presentation
I finish the dish with a pinch of Droitwich salt (or any good quality sea salt) and some freshly cracked black pepper
