The classic Italian tuna-and-mayonnaise sauce, smooth, savory, and lemony, made with real mayonnaise whipped with egg yolks, oil-packed tuna, anchovies, and capers.
Ingredients
- 200 g oil-packed white tuna in olive oil
- 2 pieces extra-fresh egg yolks
- 180 ml sunflower oil
- 40 ml mild olive oil
- 20 g oil-packed anchovy fillets
- 25 g capers in vinegar
- 30 ml fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground white pepper
Method
- Drain the tuna thoroughly over a bowl and keep only the flesh. Press it lightly with the back of a spoon to remove excess oil without drying it out completely: it should remain soft and fragrant.
- Quickly rinse the capers under cold running water, then pat them dry. Drain the anchovies. This prevents an overly salty sauce and gives you better control of the final seasoning.
- Put the egg yolks in a stable bowl at room temperature. Add the vinegar and a small pinch of salt. Whisk until the mixture is homogeneous, slightly paler, and begins to cling to the whisk.
- Make the mayonnaise by first adding the oil very slowly, almost drop by drop, while whisking constantly. Once the emulsion takes and becomes thick, glossy, and firm, continue with a steadier stream. The texture should hold on the whisk without separating.
- Add the mild olive oil at the end of emulsifying, still gradually. It brings a Mediterranean flavor without making the mayonnaise bitter. If the sauce becomes too firm, loosen it with a little lemon juice.
- Put the tuna, anchovies, capers, and mayonnaise in the bowl of a blender. Blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides, until you have a fine, pale, even cream. No visible pieces of tuna should remain.
- Gradually add the lemon juice, then blend again. The sauce should coat: fluid enough to run slowly off a spoon, but thick enough to cover a slice of cold meat or a hard-boiled egg without disappearing.
- Taste and adjust with salt and white pepper. Go gently with the salt, as the anchovies and capers will continue to develop after resting.
- Cover directly on the surface and let rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. The sauce becomes rounder, more cohesive, and truer to the classic salsa tonnata flavor when served well chilled but not ice-cold.
- Stir just before serving. If the sauce has thickened in the cold, loosen it with a few drops of cold water or lemon juice until it returns to a supple, satiny texture.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 588.3 kcal
- Protein
- 16.09 g
- Carbohydrate
- 0.66 g
- Fat
- 58.51 g
- Fibre
- 0.15 g
- Calcium
- 4.52 mg
- Iron
- 0.39 mg
- Magnesium
- 16.67 mg
