"Put Down Your Fork!" Tuna and Bean Salad

Debby H's Note:

The story behind this comes from a simple recipe I had found, then made changes to make our own. My husband loved it so much the first time I made it I literally had to say to him "Put down your fork or you'll explode". So from that point on we have called it by this name. The ingredients may seem bland, but combined together they taste great and present well. Enjoy.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 3 tablespoons light olive oil or 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (20 ounce) can white kidney beans or 1 (20 ounce) can great northern beans
• 1 (13 ounce) can albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup red sweet bell peppers or 1/4 cup yellow sweet bell peppers or 1/4 cup orange sweet bell pepper, chopped
• 6 leaves bibb lettuce (optional)

Directions:

1. In salad bowl, combine oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, basil and black pepper.
2. Add beans, tuna, scallions and sweet pepper and toss.
3. Chill several hours for flavors to blend.
4. To make a beautiful presentation, serve on a leaf of Bibb lettuce.

Reviews

[Red Jenny]

Tasty, and very easy. I didn't have all the right ingredients: I used apple cider vinegar, dried basil, cucumbers and tomatoes (instead of the peppers), and no scallions. Still, delish!

[Chef #949587]

This tasted fantastic! I used balsamic vinegar and a whole red pepper.

[nethope]

I used apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and oregano parsley (what I had). I put in at least twice as many multi-colored bell peppers! To up the tang (white beans are quite plain), I added quite a bit of pickle brice, and a small scoop of finely chopped dill pickles. I ate mine with a side of toast for some crunch. Tasty and quite filling!

Next time, a chopped tomato might go well ... and artichoke hearts ...