There is a famous dish called vitello tonnato – poached veal with a thin tuna sauce. It’s a great dish that we’ve adapted and made even more appetising. You still get those great flavours of the poaching, but we’ve encased that in golden crumbs and made the thin sauce more like a thick dip. The tuna is so good you may be inclined make it separately and serve it with crackers or crudites.
| Servings | 4 |
| Preparation time | 5 mins |
| Cooking time | 30 mins |
INGREDIENTS
- For the schnitzel
- 4 veal schnitzel
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ glass white wine
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 cups panko crumbs
- Oil to fry
- For the tuna
- 5 eggs
- 1 x 500g tin tuna, drained
- 6 cornichons, chopped
- 3 tablespoon salted baby capers, rinsed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
- Salt and pepper
METHOD
- Place the veal schnitzels in a shallow dish and add the bay, garlic and white wine. Cover and set aside.
- Make the sauce by placing the five eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in cold water. Peel and set aside. In a blender place the tuna, cornichons, 1 tablespoon of capers, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Chop three eggs and add to the blender to make a smooth paste. Add the other two and roughly blend to make a rough paste, you want to be able to see some chunks of egg. Season to taste. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C /140°C fan. Drain the veal schnitzels and cut into several pieces. Beat the remaining egg with the milk in a shallow container. Put the flour in another container and season with salt and white pepper. Put the panko crumbs in another shallow container.
- Dip the schnitzel pieces in the seasoned flour, then the egg wash and then the panko crumbs.
- Heat 1cm of oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. When hot add the remaining capers and fry until they open up to form crisp flower-like shapes. Remove and set aside on a paper towel.
- Fry the schnitzel in batches, 2-3 minutes on each side. They should be lightly golden. Remove and place on a plate and keep warm in the oven until all the schnitzels are cooked. Serve with the sauce and garnish with the fried capers.
