Where and How to Eat Vitello Tonnato in Piedmont
Vitello Tonnato is one of Piedmont’s best-known dishes. It is a historic recipe that blends ingredients of different origins into a dish of unique flavors. Vitello Tonnato reached the peak of its splendor around the 1980s, but it is still present in almost every menu in the region and beyond.
From taverns to starred restaurants, fassona sirloin is a sure-fire dish that everyone appreciates. There are traditional and innovative recipes, but the certainty is that it has been on the tables of the Savoy family since the 18th century. In fact, it was at that time that the anchovies and tuna coming from the Salt Roads of Liguria arrived in Piedmont. There are many restaurants and bars where you can taste this typical dish, here are just a few.
The piole of Turin
They are defined as the guardians of tradition. The Piole are the typical taverns of Turin, where you can taste the flavors of the past and traditional recipes. Among these you cannot miss the vitello tonnato. Served as an appetizer together with anchovies in green and tomini or as a second course, it is omnipresent. Being able to taste it in such historic places makes it taste even better.
The Langhe
The most refined version of vitello tonnato can be found in the Langhe region. A UNESCO heritage site that offers elegant choices and agritourisms where 0 km products are used. In these cases, the original recipe is used, without mayonnaise or eggs, but only by creating an emulsion with the cooking juices of the meat.
the Monferrato
This is similar to the Langhe region, where the classic version of the dish can be found. Here it is called vitello tonnato all’antica maniera (veal in tuna sauce) because it recalls the flavors of the past where veal was cooked in white wine with vegetables that were then used in the preparation of the sauce without mayonnaise and eggs. The meat is still cut thickly, as it was once done.
Street Food
Like everything else, Vitello Tonnato knows how to change clothes in order to adapt to new times, but without ever losing its identity. Around Italy there are more and more places that serve sandwiches stuffed with this delicacy, and are ideal for a lunch on the fly or for a break in the open air.
Reinterpretations
More and more gourmet restaurants are trying to reinterpret this dish loved by everyone, in a modern key. In fact, there are ravioli stuffed with veal served with tuna sauce. Not to mention pizzas, on which, cold, meat is added accompanied by sauce. These are just some of the new interpretations of a classic dish that never goes out of fashion.
