Cannellini Bean and Tuna Salad with Giardiniera

By mm_food4me

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Albacore tuna in 1” thick portions or 6.5 oz jar high-quality tuna (personal favorite: Sweet Creek Oregon Gourmet Albacore Tuna)
• 1 16oz can cannellini beans
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• giardiniera, or other small-batch pickled vegetable (not sweet; I used Mama Lil’s Pickled Peppers…yum!)
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• optional: arugula or other leafy green
• optional: rustic chiabatta

Details

Servings 3
Adapted from summertomato.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation
Speedy option: for a quick, healthy weeknight dinner use high-quality canned or jarred tuna and skip step 1.

Heat grill to medium-high. Brush tuna with olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill tuna until seared on the outside, 1 min per side or until desired doneness. The inside should be rare, but you can cook it more if you prefer. Remove from grill (or you can sear the tuna in a pan over high heat).

Soak sliced onion in cold water. Change water every 10 minutes and squeeze onions with your hands each time until they are mild and sweet, about 30 minutes total. Drain well.

Drain cannellini beans and rinse under cool water in a colander. Place in a large bowl.

Break tuna into large bite-size pieces and add to beans.

Drizzle tuna and beans generously with extra virgin olive oil and some of the pickling liquid (or red wine vinegar). Arrange on a bed of arugula or other leafy green, top with the sliced onion. Garnish with giardiniera and grind black pepper over.

Serve at room temperature with slices of freshly baked ciabatta.