(Photo by Mario Carvajal)

The Argentine Christmas menu is varied, sometimes it includes asado and others a broad selection of cold dishes such as chicken, stuffed tomatoes, deviled eggs, piononos, palm hearts, salads and more.  Most often it is a combination of the two. What is almost never missing is a Piedmontese dish called Vitel Thoné, which consists of cold sliced meat coated by a sauce of egg, tuna, capers, olive oil, cream and anchovies. Below we share the recipe in case you want to bring it to your own Christmas table:

Ingredients:

–  1-11/2 Kg of round stake/silverside

–  Onion, carrot, bay leaf, and garlic for the broth

–  8 hard-boiled eggs

–  1 cup of olive oil

–  10-12 anchovies

–  2 cans of tuna fish (in brine or oil)

–  1 cup of cream or 1 cup of mayonnaise

–  2 teaspoons of  dijon mustard

–  2 teaspoons of capers

–  Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions:

– Clean the steak from fat or covering membrane.

– Place steak with salt and vegetables for broth in a large pot of water and boil for approximately an hour or an hour and a half (until it is tender).

– Let cool in the broth.

– Slice into thin pieces.

– In a blender combine the yolks of the 8 hard-boiled eggs, the tuna and the olive oil until a paste is formed.

– Add approximately one cup of broth.

– Add anchovies, mustard, salt and a generous amount of pepper.

– Add the cream/mayonnaise.

– If the sauce is too thick then add a bit more broth.

– Layer the steak slices in a deep dish and cover each layer with the sauce. Sprinkle the capers on top.

– Refrigerate for a few hours to enhance the flavor.