August 22, 2020

White Bean Tuna Salad

One time when I was in my 20’s, I asked my mother over the phone how come she never made Tuna Noodle Casserole anymore. She told me she had made it because they didn’t have a lot of money back then. I had no idea as a kid how much things had cost. I just knew I loved it. Although my family loves Tuna Noodle Casserole as well, I have another inexpensive mostly pantry dish they also really like. Enter one of my family’s more inexpensive dinners, White Bean Tuna Salad.

I got another request, this time from my younger daughter for that “delicious thing with tuna and the beans on bread”. Nobody tell her that I used to make White Bean Tuna Salad when the freezer needed replenishing and we were down to a lot of cupboard staples. I would just have to buy arugula and crusty bread. Leave it to my kids to like arugula even when they were young. This recipe needs no cooking. It be can thrown it together quickly on those evenings that I can’t do much or I forgot to plan ahead. It is a great recipe for hot weather. Because we have eaten such a light and healthy dinner, I wouldn’t feel guilty serving brownie sundaes for dessert. It’s all about balance.

This time, I just had to buy a loaf of crusty bread as we still had arugula and parsley in the garden. I sliced the loaf of bread and put the slices under the broiler for a few minutes on each side. This time I got a minion (husband or daughters) to pull up a chair and watch the bread. You can’t walk away from bread under the broiler. The bread can go from not toasted enough to burnt in 30 seconds.

We had the brownie sundaes for dessert.

Print Recipe

White Bean Tuna Salad

Inexpensive Dinner Salad Made from Mostly Pantry Ingredients.

Prep Time20

Cook Time6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Asian Steak Salad, Tuna, White Bean

Servings: 2

Equipment

knife or food processor

Ingredients

Salad

1 15 oz. can Cannelini or Great Northern Beans drained and rinsed
2 5 0z. cans Tuna drained
2 cups Arugula lightly packed
1/2 cup Red Onion thinly sliced and then lightly cut into roughly one inch pieces
1/4 cup Italian Parsley chopped

Dressing

3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
Juice of Half a Lemon
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest optional

For Serving

Crusty Bread Sliced and Toasted

Instructions

In a large bowl combine beans, tuna, arugula, red onion, and parsley.
For dressing, combine vinegar, oil, oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk to combine.
Pour dressing over tuna mixture; toss to combine. Serve on toasted crusty bread.

Modifications

I’ve streamlined this recipe to have less steps and be as easy as possible.

I have a problem slicing anything thinly, so I quarter the small red onion and put it in the feed tube of my food processor using the stem and slicing blade.The parsley can be done either in the food processor or chopped by hand.

I squeezed the lemon by hand but it was a soft one. Microwaving a lemon for 5 seconds makes them juice more easily as well. I am remembering one of those little plastic squeeze lemons I bought at the grocery store a long time ago that tasted pretty close to real lemon. Why don’t I keep one of those around now?

Lemon zest can be optional if it is too much of a pain in the hands, but I used it this time.

You can make the dressing in a leak proof container or jar and shake it if it’s easier than whisking.

The food processor is also an option for the dressing, and you could also pour the olive oil in at the end through the little hole in the feed tube spout insert. This would make the dressing more emulsified but it seems like it might be overkill for this salad. I would do this only if I wanted to say the word “emulsified” to my family and friends, which the more I think about it, I do. Just not this time.