Tuna and White Bean Salad with Lemon
A no-cook salad of flaky canned tuna and creamy white beans, sharpened with red onion, parsley and plenty of lemon. High in protein and ready in minutes.
- Total
- 10 min
- Prep 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Emulsifying · Zesting
- Savory
- No cook
Instructions
-
Open the canned tuna and tip it into a colander set over the sink. Drain the white beans in the same colander and let both sit for a minute so the excess liquid runs off.
~2 min
Draining removes excess liquid so the dressing doesn't become watery and dilute the lemon flavor.
Drain the beans well and pat them dry if you can: watery beans dilute the lemon dressing and the salad turns flat.
-
Peel the red onion and slice a quarter of it as thinly as you can, about 2 mm thick. Pick the parsley leaves and chop them finely until you have 2 tbsp.
~3 min
-
Zest half the lemon into a small bowl, then squeeze the juice from that half over the zest, catching any pips. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.125 tsp black pepper and whisk with a fork until it looks slightly thickened.
~2 min
Zest contains citrus oils that add bright aroma, while juice provides acidity; whisking emulsifies oil and juice into a clingy dressing.
Add the lemon zest, not just the juice. The zest carries the citrus oil that makes the dressing taste bright rather than simply sour.
Emulsifying Whisk oil into lemon juice until slightly thickened; if it separates, add a few drops of water and whisk again.
Zesting Zest only the yellow peel, avoiding the bitter white pith; use a light touch and rotate the lemon as you go.
-
Put the drained tuna and white beans in a bowl and break the tuna into large flakes with a fork. Add the sliced red onion and the dressing and fold gently so the beans stay whole.
~2 min
Folding gently keeps beans intact and tuna in large flakes, improving texture and preventing a mushy salad.
-
Scatter the chopped parsley over the salad, fold it through once, and taste a bean and a piece of tuna. Add a pinch more salt or a few drops of lemon juice if it needs lift, then serve right away.
~1 min