Posted by Christina Turner (Zobha Team member)
Labor Day weekend adventure? Here’s a delicious and simple meal to bring with you on your weekend excursion.
If you have a ferocious appetite, like me, which increases exponentially after any outdoor activity, then you’ll understand the phrase, “I’m so hungry, I could eat my own arm!”
Fagioli e tonno – White Bean and Tuna salad — is my top lunch choice for my post skiing or sea kayaking adventure.
Save the protein bars for your Emergency Preparedness Kits and instead savor this simple Italian contorni which packs protein, carbs and flavor!
This salad can be easily packed in a Ziplock bag – minimal weight for you to schelp along on your back. Forget about needing a container; just grab a fork and eat it right out of the bag.
Ingredients:
1 can of cooked Cannellini /Tuscan-Style White Beans
1 6-oz. can olive-oil-packed tuna, lightly drained
Red onion or shallot thinly sliced – as little or as much as you like
Fruity extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
A few sprigs of fresh Flat Leafed Italian Parsley, roughly chopped
Place beans in a large serving bowl, and add tuna. Break up tuna with a wooden spoon. Scatter red onion over tuna. Sprinkle in the parsley. Then drizzle with oil, and season generously with pepper. Ta-da! You’re done. Easy, eh?
Now let’s talk tuna. This salad is so pure that I recommend buying the highest quality canned tuna you can afford. Get to know Flott brand tuna. It’s a seasoned and well oiled Yellow Fin tuna. Who knew canned tuna could be so tender, flavorful and divine?
As for those thinly sliced onions, you can soften the sharpness of flavor (your tummy may be grateful too!) by squeezing a bit of fresh lemon juice or pouring a teaspoon of white vinegar over the onions and letting the mixture rest for a few minutes prior to adding to the tuna, etc. Draining off the excess liquid of course.
Taking care of yourself as you enjoy the outdoors is so essential to your overall experience. An easily prepared dish like Fagioli e Tonno will sustain you throughout the day, allowing you to venture farther and focus on the infinite benefits of being outdoors.
