This easy tuna and bean salad from Tuscany, is a healthy and delicious light meal.
This salad is a typical dish from Tuscany. This cuisine is noted for its simplicity and use of fresh seasonal ingredients.
Beans are a popular ingredient in the region and are consumed throughout the year in favourites such as Pasta e Fagioli, Ribollita, and Fagioli all’ucelletto.
The salad is healthy and rich in flavour. It is incredibly easy to put this together and quite rewarding.
Often served as an antipasto, this salad can also be enjoyed as a light meal as temperatures begin to rise. The delicate taste of tuna with lemon juice, parsley and onions is very refreshing.
Cannellini beans
Cannellini are a variety of kidney beans, creamy white in colour, with a creamy, slightly nutty, mild flavour. They are popular in the cuisine of central and southern Italy.
They highly nutritious, fat free, and an excellent source of fibre, iron, magnesium and B vitamins.
Canned cannellini
For this salad I used canned cannellini beans (rather than the dry variety) and tuna, as they work perfectly well here. They are inexpensive and easily available in most supermarkets. I always keep a few cans in the pantry for a quick easy and healthy meal.
Dry cannellini
If you have the time, dry beans do taste better but they need to be soaked, ideally overnight, before cooking. They require a few hours to cook, but you can add a variety of other ingredients to the pot to infuse more flavour, such as onions, herbs and garlic.
Cooks tips:
- Always buy fresh dry beans as older, stale beans will take forever to cook (and sometimes not cook at all).
- You could make a large quantity of beans, then freeze them in small bags for quick defrosting, to use later.
Don’t like fresh raw onions?
If you find the taste of freshly cut raw onions a bit strong, soak them in a bowl of cold water with a teaspoon of vinegar for approximately 10 minutes before draining and adding them to the salad.
How to serve
Serve with bread to soak up the dressing.
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Tuscan Tuna & Cannellini Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cans tuna in oil
- 1 red onion finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Dressing
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, break up the tuna into large pieces and add the beans.
- In a separate medium size bowl, prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Mix well and pour over the tuna and beans.
- Add the onion and mix.
- Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or till ready to serve.
Notes
- Always buy fresh dry beans as older, stale beans will take forever to cook (and sometimes not cook at all).
- You could make a large quantity of beans, then freeze them in small bags for quick defrosting, to use later.
MEASUREMENT NOTES
The ingredients here on EOTF are set out in grams & milliliters and in US cups & spoons.
eileenbakingsense
Such a healthy and easy recipe. I’m definitely making this for lunch this week.
The Olive Blogger
Ohhh yummy I have to add this to my next antipasto plate! My hubby and I enjoy them every once and awhile for dinner, and this salad would be perfect! So simple!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
Oh my gosh, I used to eat salads like this all the time but forgot about it! I don’t eat fish anymore, but it still looks so good. Maybe I can figure out a veggie version.
The FoodOlic
What a refreshing way this plate is! I would totally see myself making this for lunch, it’s got all the proteins you need to get through the day, plus I’m sure it’s YUMMY!
Amy
This sounds delicious! Thanks for the tip about soaking the onions to tone down their potency a bit!
Lynne Curry
Those Italians really get tuna! And simplicity, just the way you say. A great protein-packed salad!
Lynn | The Road to Honey
I was in Italy 6 months ago and fell in love with the country as well as the cuisine. We didn’t have time to visit Tuscany which is okay with me because that means another trip to Italy is a must. Such a beautiful and healthy dish.
Gloria Duggan
Tuscany is one place that is on my “want to visit” list. My optician is from Italy…and we talk it about all the time. Love the sounds of this salad. Beans and tuna are such a great combination….this is perfect for the upcoming grilling season.
The FoodOlic
I’m not a crazy fan of those bean soups but I love them in such a way!! Plenty of fresh extras that makes the beans stand out! This is a fantastic bean salad that would corrupt any bean sceptic out there! Wonderful!
FredNonterah
This is definitely a healthy salad full of flavor. Will be great for dinner! Thanks for sharing!
Traditionally Modern Food
healthy salad like this are so welcome. i have never used cannelli beans before guess i should look for it on my next grocery trip
GiGi Eats Celebrities
Anything TUSCAN I am game for!
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed
What a delicious salad, I love cannellini beans and tuna. I’m always on the lookout for healthy lunch ideas, thanks for sharing 🙂
Alicia Taylor at Taylorlife.com
That looks so simple and talk about protein packed. Can you use red kidney beans in this instead of white ones? I have red ones and am looking for a quick dinner.
Nicole
Cannellini (or white beans) have a more subtle flavour and a creamier texture than red kidney beans. Substituting with red kidney beans will change this dish but will still taste nice.
Alicia Taylor at Taylorlife.com
Thanks 🙂