Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A pantry-and-fridge dinner that never touches heat: flaky olive-oil tuna, creamy cannellini beans, crunchy celery and sweet cherry tomatoes tossed in a bright lemon dressing. Ten minutes of chopping and stirring gets you a genuinely satisfying Italian supper — pile it onto plates with bread, or spoon it over lettuce.

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 whole lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
• 2 cans (5 oz each) tuna in olive oil, drained
• 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Put the sliced red onion in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and a pinch of the salt. Toss and leave to sit for 10 minutes while you prep everything else — this softens the raw bite and turns the slices bright pink.
2. In a large serving bowl, whisk the remaining lemon juice with the olive oil, salt and black pepper until it looks creamy and slightly thickened, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the drained cannellini beans, celery, cherry tomatoes and the onion along with its lemony soaking juices. Fold gently with a rubber spatula so the beans stay whole and get coated in dressing.
4. Break the drained tuna into large flakes over the top, add the parsley, and fold just two or three times — you want distinct chunks of tuna, not a mashed tuna salad.
5. Let the bowl stand at room temperature for 10 minutes so the beans drink up the dressing, then taste and add more salt, pepper or a squeeze of lemon before serving.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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