from JOAN DRAKE, Special to The Los Angeles Times

Tuna-bean salad is a popular antipasto in Italy. Since returning to California after 15 years in Rome, a friend of mine has put her own spin on the dish by increasing the portion size and serving it as a quick, cool dinner on summer evenings. She typically serves the salad in shallow bowls, but it can also be spooned onto plates lined with greens. If you think of it, refrigerate the cans of cannellini beans ahead of time; chilled beans are less likely to break apart when tossed with the other ingredients. Accompany this light entree with bruschetta, plain or topped with very ripe chopped tomatoes. Bruschetta is normally cut from a large round loaf of Italian bread, grilled over charcoal, rubbed with garlic and then drizzled with olive oil. When you don’t have time to fire up the grill, our speedy sourdough baguette version isn’t a bad substitute.

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, preferably chilled ahead
1 (12-ounce) can water-packed solid white tuna
5 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Salad greens, optional

Directions:
Rinse beans with cold water and set aside to drain.
Drain tuna. Turn into bowl and break up with fork.
Add beans and 4 tablespoons onion.
Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and gently toss.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again.
Serve in shallow bowls or on plates lined with salad greens. Garnish with remaining 1 tablespoon onion.

Number Of Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 30 MINUTES OR LESS

Tags: Recipes

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 12:33 am by markmelch and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.