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Tuna, Caper & Anchovy Espuma

Name: Tuna, Caper & Anchovy Espuma
Yield: 10 to 12 portions
Ingredients: 200 g Good quality tuna in oil, drained; 6 to 8 Anchovy fillets, oil-packed; 40 g Capers, rinsed; 3 each Egg yolks; 10 g Dijon mustard; 30 ml Lemon juice; 10 ml White grape vinegar; 150 ml Neutral oil, grapeseed; 120 ml Light chicken stock, warm; 80 ml Cream, lightly reduced; 2 each Gelatine sheets, gold strength; White pepper; optional, a tiny clove, blanched Garlic

Espuma di Tonno, Capperi e Acciughe

A tonnato emulsion, stabilised with gelatine and charged in a siphon.

The classic tonnato profile, lifted and aerated. Light and mousse-like, not a foam of bubbles that collapses on the plate.

10 to 12 portions

Cook this

Taste it before it goes into the siphon and make it slightly over-seasoned. Foam dulls both salt and acidity. If it is flat, more lemon. If it is too salty, more stock.
Chef Paul Dukai

Ingredients

Good quality tuna in oil, drained200 g
Anchovy fillets, oil-packed6 to 8
Capers, rinsed40 g
Egg yolks3 each
Dijon mustard10 g
Lemon juice30 ml
White grape vinegar10 ml
Neutral oil, grapeseed150 ml
Light chicken stock, warm120 ml
Cream, lightly reduced80 ml
Gelatine sheets, gold strength2 each
White pepper
Garlicoptional, a tiny clove, blanched

Method

The base

Bloom the gelatine in cold water.
Into the Thermomix: the tuna, anchovies, capers, egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar. Blend at speed 8 for 1 minute.
Scrape down, then emulsify at speed 5, streaming the oil in slowly through the lid. You are building a light tonnato emulsion.

Lighten and stabilise

Heat the stock and cream gently. Do not boil them.
Dissolve the bloomed gelatine into the warm liquid.
With the Thermomix running at speed 4 to 5, pour the warm mixture in slowly, and blend for 30 to 45 seconds until completely smooth.
Taste and correct now, slightly over-seasoned, before it goes any further.

Strain and charge

Pass through a fine chinois and then muslin. Zero particles: this is what prevents the siphon clogging, and it is not optional.
Pour into a 0.5 L or 1 L siphon and charge with 2 cartridges for a stable foam. Shake well.
Rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally 4 to 6.
Serve slightly cool rather than fridge cold. Too cold and the foam is tight, too warm and it collapses.

Chef’s notes

What to avoid: too salty before the siphon, which cannot be corrected afterwards; not straining, which clogs the siphon mid-service; no stabiliser, which collapses the foam; too thick to aerate, or too thin and watery.
Balance: the anchovy in the background rather than dominant, lemon lifting everything, the fat emulsified rather than heavy, and a texture that is cloud-like but structured.
Plating directions from the source: a soft quenelle dispensed into a spoon; piped alongside sliced veal rather than on top of it; or as dots or a line with fried capers, preserved lemon brunoise and celery leaf.

Keeping

DUKAI storage guidance

It contains raw egg yolk, so it is held at 5°C or below and used within 24 hours. The rest of 2 to 6 hours in the siphon is part of making it, not storage.

Allergens and diet

Fish, tuna and anchovy. Eggs. Mustard. Milk. Sulphites, from the vinegar.

Last refined · September 2026