on the water

I hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did! We spent Saturday with friends on their boat; it was a perfect day for boating, swimming and picnicing. I particularly enjoyed the white bean and tuna salad our hosts made.

Happy Monday!

Leora's White Bean and Tuna Salad

The tuna is so easy, there's no real recipe.
For each can of cannellini beans (I used to cook them from scratch but no one seems to notice the change so there you have it):
I rinse them in cold water, drain them well, and put them in a bowl. I add one can of tuna IN OLIVE OIL, drained, and fork-separated. I think it's so much better than with the water-packed. I usually use Fishing Vessel St. Jude Mediterranean Style that I get at the market. Or the Portuguese "As Do Mar". Then I add a healthy dose of good extra virgin olive oil, a healthy bit of kosher salt, finely minced fresh garlic, and tiny diced red onion. If I have it, I add finely chopped flat-leaf parsley because it freshens it up a bit and makes it look pretty. I just add all the stuff to taste. If I'm making a three can batch, I usually only use 2 cans of tuna.

If you're cooking the beans from dry, I soak them overnight, add cold water to cover, and simmer gently with a couple of cloves of peeled garlic in the pot. Then I don't need to add garlic when I'm dressing them. But then you need to use more olive oil because the beans seem to really soak it up. (drain them and only use them once they're at room temperature or they'll REALLY soak up the oil).