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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
5 minutes
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Serves
4 to 6
Author Notes
Every once in a while, I come across a dish that hits me with intense infatuation and then self-recrimination as I wonder: Why didn’t I think of this? I love vitello tonnato. I love juicy tomatoes in vinaigrette. Why didn’t I think to put tomatoes and tuna sauce together as Alex Barkley, the chef at Botanica in LA, did in his luscious Tomato Tonnato!?
Emily Fiffer and Heather Sperling, Botanica’s owners, kindly shared the recipe with me, just in time for us to scoop up the last great tomatoes of the season and end it with a bang. Hurry now!
The recipe consists of two parts, the sauce and the tomatoes. You can make the sauce ahead, but prep the tomatoes within an hour of serving. Here’s how it all comes together:
You spread a layer of thick, aioli-like tuna sauce, made by whizzing together tinned tuna, garlic, lemon, fish sauce, banyuls vinegar, and—curve ball—shiitake mushroom powder, on a plate. Then you blanket the tonnato with thick slabs of heirloom tomatoes that have juiced in a marinade of Banyuls vinegar, olive oil, fish sauce, and shallots. As a final flourish, you scatter on baby basil and herb blossoms (if you have them), a few cracks of pepper and a thin stream of your best olive oil. I recommend plating this dish so that everyone can sop up their own pool of juices and tonnato sauce with bread—no one ever does that when there’s a platter at the center of the table. It would be a crime to leave behind a single drop.
Cooking notes from Alex:
- We use our poached hiramasa collar at the restaurant but most other tasty tinned fish will work; lean toward a nice fatty tuna. We love Siesta Co.
- We like Red Boat fish sauce but any brand will work.
- At the restaurant we have plenty of leftover shiitake stems that we dry and use for more depth in this dish. Store-bought works wonderfully; even omitting it is okay.
—Amanda Hesser
Test Kitchen Notes
Adapted from Alex Barkley, chef at Botanica in LA. —Food52
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Ingredients
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For the tonnato:
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1
(110 gram) can tuna in oil, drained
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2
egg yolks
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3
garlic cloves, thinly sliced (use a Microplane, if you have one)
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1 tablespoon
fresh marjoram leaves
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1 teaspoon
dried shiitake powder
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1 1/2 teaspoons
capers
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1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice
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1/2 teaspoon
fish sauce
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1/2 teaspoon
Banyuls vinegar
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3/4 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
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Kosher salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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—
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For the Banyuls vinaigrette:
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1/4 cup
Banyuls vinegar
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1/2 teaspoon
fish sauce
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1/2 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
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—
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For the tomatoes:
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3
large heirloom tomatoes, cored
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1/2
shallot, sliced as thinly as possible (a mandolin is helpful here)
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1/4 teaspoon
Maldon sea salt
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1 teaspoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice
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For serving:
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2 tablespoons
Banyuls vinaigrette
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1 handful
baby basil & herb blossoms (optional)
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Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
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Best quality olive oil, to taste
Directions
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Make the tonnato: Place all the tonnato ingredients—except for the olive oil, salt and pepper—in a food processor and blend until homogenous. Slowly stream in the oil, like you are making an aioli, until the tonnato is emulsified and thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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Make the Banyuls vinaigrette: Whisk together the Banyuls vinegar and fish sauce. Gradually whisk in the oil until emulsified.
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Prep the tomatoes: Slice an assortment of the best tomatoes you can find (we love Benevento and Mai Tai), 1/3-inch thick. Toss the tomatoes with the sliced shallot, Maldon salt, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons Banyuls vinaigrette (save the extra for future salads). Be assertive as you toss but not rough; the goal is to draw out some of the tomato juice and make a vinaigrette with the juice, BUT please don’t smash up those beautiful slices!
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Taste the tomato vinaigrette in the bottom of the bowl. It should be a bit salty and a bit acidic but nicely balanced. If it is too acidic, add a splash of olive oil, toss and taste again.
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Plate the tomato tonnato: On four of your most decorative plates, smear a thin layer of the tonnato in the center of the plate (about 2 tablespoons per plate), leaving 1 inch from the rim clear. You want the tomato to cover the tonnato. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the tonnato, still leaving a small gap between the tomato and the rim of the plate. Place the shaved shallot on top and garnish with baby basil leaves, buds, and any herb blossoms that may be in season. We like to be organic with plating and avoid symmetry—be sure to express yourself! Finish with a few cracks of black pepper and a drizzle of your finest finishing olive oil.
Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.
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