Look Ma, no cooking! Tonno Fagioli Insalata

That's Italian for tuna and bean salad, a fast, simple no-cook dish that I made up in the kitchen the other night. (I named it in Italian to be 'fenzy' [fancy], or so my Nona would say in broken English.)

This recipe is a great 'staples in the house' dish -- one you can whip together when you're absurdly low on groceries but don't feel like venturing outdoors in face-melting 1000-degree humidity to buy them. It's also helpful in the same face-melting heat to not have to turn on your oven or grill or pants.

Or is that just me in DC?

Anyway, this dish is heavier on beans than tuna, so it works well as a main dish on its own, side dish (in small portions), or on top on greens. If you wanted it on bread, you could always rearrange the beans-to-tuna ratio (BTR in scientific circles). Or, you could just balance all those beans on a slice. Which is weird, but hey, far be it from me to judge.

Tonno Fagioli Insalata (aka Tuna & Bean Salad)

Ingredients

1 can white beans (navy or cannellini), drained (could substitute 1 can chickpeas for some shape variation)
1 can red kidney beans, drained
2 cans tuna in water, drained (could also do tuna in oil and adjust the evoo later)
1/2 to 3/4 c artichoke tapenade or chopped artichokes
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Fresh basil, chopped (to taste) (oregano and/or rosemary would be yummy too)

Mix it all together and let it sit for at least an hour so the flavors meld. It makes a good bit for one person -- I got 4 hearty servings out of it, and could probably have stretched it to 6 meals if I weren't being such a little piggy.

Let me know if you come up with any variations!