#95 - Sicilian Tuna and White Bean Bruschetta

When Borders went out of business, we not only got the Jonathan Waxman book, but we also bought this cookbook from frequent Iron Chef judge Donatella Arpaia.

Sicilian Tuna and White Bean Bruschetta

From Donatella Cooks This recipe has two ingredients we know go well together from our Ligabue salad - tuna fish and cannellini beans. This is a bruschetta, so you have to get some nice crusty bread, slice it and toast it or grill it up. After making a little mustard and red onion vinaigrette, you mix that with the cannellini beans and puree some of that to make the whole topping extra smooth. This was a really nice little appetizer. There was a lot of topping, so we kinda felt like it was something else (maybe an open faced Italian tuna salad sandwich?) rather than bruschetta, but it was tasty.

The vinaigrette added nice flavor, and the onions added a solid crunch to the semi-pureed topping. All in all, this was a great appetizer / side dish / whatever you want to call it. You should have the ingredients in your pantry from your Ligabue stock. So make this instead one time.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil plus extra for brushing
• 1 1/2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, soaked for 30 minutes in ice-cold water
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained well
• 1 250-gram jar imported olive oil-packed Italian tuna, drained
• 20 fresh mint leaves, cut in thin strips
• 4-6 slices rustic Italian bread

Preparation

1. Whisk together 1/4 cup of the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl.
2. Add half of the onions, toss, and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Combine the beans and onion vinaigrette in a large bowl.
5. Puree one-third of the mixture in a food processor until smooth.
6. Fold this mixture back into the beans, add the tuna and the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil, and all but 1 Tbs of the mint.
7. Mix until the tuna is no longer chunky.
8. Brush the bread slices with olive oil, toast, and cut in half, if desired.
9. Arrange the bread slices on a platter.
10. Spoon some of the tuna-bean mixture onto each slice.
11. Garnish with the remaining onions and mint and serve.