This classic combination of beans and tuna is great when made with white beans that have been cooked with garlic and other spices, like White Beans with Garlic (page 441). If you use bland or canned or frozen beans, jack up the seasonings here; add, for example, a bit of garlic, some fresh thyme, and/or a little cayenne. A great picnic recipe, this can be made well in advance; note the green bean and salami variations, which are also good. Any of these salads would be great toppings for Crostini (page 41) as well.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 cups cooked, frozen, or canned white beans, like cannellini

　　One 7-ounce can tuna, preferably packed in olive oil

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to taste

　　1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

　　1 red onion, finely chopped

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves for garnish, optional

　　

Step 1

Drain the beans if necessary. Put the tuna in the bowl and flake with a fork, then stir in the beans.

　　

Step 2

Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the salad, add the onion, and toss well. Season with salt and per, then taste and add more olive oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper as needed. Garnish if you like and serve at room temperature; this will keep well, unrefrigerated, for an hour or two.

　　

Green Bean and Tuna Salad

Step 3

Substitute 1 pound green beans, trimmed, for the white beans. Cook them in salted boiling water just until tender and bright green; immediately plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, then cut into 1-inch pieces and proceed as directed.

　　

Bean and Salami Salad

Step 4

Substitute 3 ounces salami, cut into narrow strips, for the tuna and red wine vinegar for the lemon juice.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.