Chicken Tonnato - Keeping it cool in the heat
Finished and ready for the party!
One of my favorite warm weather dishes is an Italian classic called “Vitelo Tonnato” or veal with tuna sauce. When you think about tuna there is probably an image of a childhood tuna sandwich, conveniently filling soft white bread. It is in fact a convenient sandwich filler and with a few variations, mayo, celery, green apples…and other optional additions, tuna can make a perfectly adequate even pleasant sandwich. But much to my surprise, when traveling in Italy, I was re-introduced to tuna through a veal dish covered in a tuna sauce that left any ideas of mediocre tuna in the can. I was in Milano with an Italian friend that did not speak English well, and I had just enough Italian vocabulary to get along. I had arrived late in the afternoon by train from Florence and I missed the traditional lunch time. In Europe meals used to be held to very strict standards of time and tradition. So when I arrived too late to catch the lunch hour, starving for a satisfying meal, I was greeted not by the normally welcome open doors but instead, doors shut declaring their “fermato” - Closed - status. Fortunately my guide knew the owners of a small trattoria and convinced them to serve me anything they may have had left from the earlier lunch service. Vitelo Tonnato was all that was available.
Had I known it was cold meat covered in a cold tuna sauce, I may have hesitated. But lucky for me my Italian friend, even in his fluent hand language, was unable to translate. Plus what he was trying to tell me made no sense, fish and cow. When I tasted it I knew the flavor, but in this totally different context, it took me a while to figure it out. He did give me one big hint, which was “Charlie”. For the young readers, Charlie was the animated tuna fish in the Starkist T.V. commercials in the 70s. I had my “Ah-ha” moment shortly thereafter. When I found out how easy it was to make, it became part of my summer recipes repertoire. My love affair with Italian food strengthened with every meal I ate on that trip to Italy and it was just the beginning. I have adapted this recipe using poached chicken which requires very little hands-on cooking time, so it’s perfect for those hot summer months. This versatile sauce can be added to a pasta salad and embellished with kalamata olives and red peppers...Buon Appetito!
