Vitel Toné

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg beef eye of round (peceto)
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 1 celery stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 1.5 litres water
• 2 tsp salt
• 180 g canned tuna in oil, drained
• 5 anchovy fillets in oil
• 300 g mayonnaise
• 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
• 2 tbsp capers, plus 2 tbsp to garnish
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp of the cooking broth

Before you cook

• Trim any silverskin from the beef and tie it at intervals with kitchen string so it holds a round shape
• Peel the carrot and onion and halve them
• Hard-boil 2 eggs and keep the yolks
• Drain the tuna well and pat the anchovies dry

Steps

1. Put the beef in a deep pot with the carrot, onion, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt.
2. Pour in the wine and enough water to cover the meat by 2 cm.
3. Bring the pot to a bare simmer and skim off any grey foam that rises.
4. Cook at the gentlest simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning the beef once halfway.
5. Check the meat with a skewer; it should slide in with mild resistance and read 65°C at the centre.
6. Turn off the heat and leave the beef to cool in its broth for 1 hour.
7. Lift the beef out, wrap it tightly in cling film and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. Strain 6 tablespoons of the broth into a small bowl and keep it cold.
9. Blend the tuna, anchovies, egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of capers to a smooth paste.
10. Add the mayonnaise and blend again in short bursts, just until combined.
11. Loosen the sauce with the cold broth, a spoonful at a time, until it pours like thick cream.
12. Sharpen it with the lemon juice and taste; the anchovies usually supply all the salt it needs.
13. Unwrap the chilled beef, cut off the string and slice it as thinly as you can manage, no thicker than 3 mm.
14. Spread a little sauce over a large platter and lay the slices on it, overlapping like roof tiles.
15. Coat the slices with the rest of the sauce so no meat is left uncovered.
16. Scatter the remaining capers over the top and chill the platter for 1 hour before serving.