Tomato Tonnato | from On the Side
Possibly the most recreated recipe from my first cookbook?
This is a sample of the kind of recipe you can expect on Rocket & Squash, A Cook's Digest. I hope you enjoy it.
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If this isn’t the most cooked recipe from my first book, On the Side, it’s still definitely the most one that’s talked about most on social media. And while I wouldn’t be so naive as to claim that I was the first to pair good, umami-rich tomatoes with the the fishy, salty sauce that is more normally a classic match for slivers of cold roast veal, it definitely wasn’t something I’d seen when I wrote that book in 2015, nor (do I think) had anyone been so cheesy as to call this alternative pairing by it’s cheesy name.
Anyway, here’s the recipe and intro from On the Side (Bloomsbury, 2017). The photography is by Joe Woodhouse.
This might seem a surprising combination, but a fishy, umami-rich tonnato (an Italian sauce usually served with cold veal) balances tomato’s natural acidity beautifully, punctuated by a sprinkling of salty and sour capers. I’ve enjoyed this with veal chops, pork belly, monkfish and cod, and I’m sure there are many other fine matches.
You’re likely to have some tonnato sauce left over, but it’s not efficient to make it in a smaller quantity. Happily, it keeps well for 2–3 days if covered and refrigerated. Use it to lubricate cold meats or roast lamb or as a flavoured mayonnaise in sandwiches. The tomatoes must be at room temperature and sliced thinly so that there’s plenty of cut surface area for the sauce to cling to.
Here’s the recipe: