Recipe: Italian Marrow Beans with Tuna

updated Feb 3, 2020

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(Image credit: Image reprinted from Heirloom Beans with permission of Chronicle Books)

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Heirloom Beans. We love this bright book and all the delicious and practical recipes inside. This recipe is a great example of those. It’s easy, fast, and uses pantry staples. In fact, if the beans are already cooked (maybe in

your slow cooker?), you don’t have to do any cooking at all!

Italian and Spanish cooks make variations of this dish, which at its base consists of beans, tuna, and oil. This is a dish where you can’t skimp on any of the ingredients. Look for Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese tuna packed in olive oil.

Add a small baguette and you have a great portable lunch. You could serve a green salad as well.

Italian Marrow Beans with Tuna
Serves 4

One 5-ounce can best-quality, olive oil–packed tuna, drained slightly
1/2 medium sweet onion, very thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, cut in half lengthwise and then on the diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 1/2 cups well-drained, cooked marrow beans, warmed slightly
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the tuna in a salad bowl and break it up slightly with a fork. Add the onion, celery, parsley, and beans. Drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and toss well. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve at room temperature within 2 hours.

Substitution Note: Runner cannellini or any other mild white bean will work here. Another option is flageolet.

(Image and recipe, including headnotes, reprinted from Heirloom Beans with permission of Chronicle Books)

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