Green Bean, Potato, and Tuna Salad, Campania Style

green bean potato tuna salad recipe

Watching my son frolicking in our garden, under blue skies and carefree, is one of the summer moments in the great outdoors that I always cherish the most. He loves to give a helping hand in his own sort of fun way, gathering the fruits and vegetables abounding in the garden that are ripened, colorful, and bursting with flavor.

fresh green beans

Like this morning with the green beans, for example, when he playfully decided to forgo the picking on his own part, and opted to discreetly gather handfuls at a time directly from his father’s basket and place them in his own. He laughed and laughed, and had the best time!

garden green beans

We grow lots of green beans in our garden throughout the summer into early fall. Fortunately, they thrive in the soil under the bright, hot Campanian sun as long as we refresh them regularly with waterings in the evenings. We pick them when they are young and crisp before their seeds inside are fully matured. Some of them we eat enthusiastically, raw, right off the vine, and the others we utilize to prepare one of the wholesome and delicious local specialty dishes that scream summertime in the Campania region.

green bean salad recipe

This is one of our favorite preparations, which combines the freshly-picked green beans with potatoes, canned tuna packed in oil, grape tomatoes, red onions, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and salt, to make a delightfully refreshing salad or vegetable side dish (called contorno in Italian). In traditional homes, this salad is also commonly prepared to bring along on a family outing for a picnic in the countryside or by the sea on a beautiful summer’s day.

green bean salad recipe

Buon Appetito a Tutti (Enjoy your Meal, Everyone) !

Green Bean, Potato, and Tuna Salad, Campania Style

Seek out the freshly-picked green beans in season at your neighborhood farmer's market or farm stand, where they are sure to be fresh as can be. Select the beans that are bright green, firm, crisp, and show no signs of bulges, which are caused by over mature seeds inside.
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Course: Vegetable Side Dishes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Idaho potatoes unpeeled and washed
  • 1 pound fresh green beans ends trimmed
  • 7- ounce can tuna preserved in olive oil preferably imported Italian or Spanish, separated into large flakes
  • 8 grape tomatoes halved or quartered
  • 1 small red onion halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1 medium lemon or more to taste
  • fine salt

Instructions

  • In a large pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a strong simmer and cook the potatoes until tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander.
  • Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop in the green beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander, then transfer them to a bowl of ice water and set aside to cool.
  • When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes with a sharp paring knife and cut them into large, bite-size chunks.
  • In large serving bowl, combine the potatoes, green beans, tuna, tomatoes, and onion and gently toss to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt. Gently toss again to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary, adding more to taste.
  • Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

For best results, the lemon juice should be added just before the serving time. If you are not serving immediately, you can prepare the entire salad in advance and let it chill in the refrigerator, then take it out, return it to room temperature, add the lemon juice, toss well, and serve.