Though I have this on the menu as veal tonnato, and the sauce is delicious with a grilled chop (or more traditionally with braised veal round), this sauce can be used in so many other ways.
It is excellent on grilled tuna, or as the salad dressing for a salad with cold grilled tuna, or on any plain white fish. I have used it as a dressing for tomato salad or a spread for a tomato sandwich. It can also be used as a dip for vegetables or crackers. It tastes really good on grated carrots or spread thinly on toasted bread and topped with avocado. It also makes an excellent sauce for pasta.
Best of all, if you make it in a slightly less traditional way that the original recipe by using jarred mayonnaise instead of emulsifying eggs and olive oil, you an whip it up at a moment's notice because most of the ingredients are pantry staples.
Makes about a cup of sauce.
1/2 cup jarred mayonnaise (my personal favorite is Hellman's)
1 can tuna in oil
1/4 cup olive oil
3 to 5 anchovies, according to taste
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsps capers, according to taste
Juice from one lemon
Cracked pepper
Place all the ingredients except for the pepper in a blender or bowl, ready for your immersion blender. Blend until smooth. If you have difficulties getting the ingredients to a smooth sauce-like consistency, you can add a couple more tablespoons of the mayonnaise. I suggest that you start with the minimum amounts of caper and anchovy because you can always add to the flavor if you feel you need it.
Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning - you may indeed want more lemon, more anchovies or capers etc. Season with cracked pepper and use as you wish. I find that a judicious sprinkling of chopped Italian parsley or tarragon makes for a prettier dish because the sauce, though umami-rich and delicious, is a bit on the visually boring side.
Photo by L.