Tuna and White Bean Salad with Sharp Onion

Portuguese

Easy · Room Temperature

Tuna and White Bean Salad with Sharp Onion

Good tuna, white beans that have had a proper soak and cook so they hold their skin but give gently inside, and yellow onion sliced thin and sharpened with red wine vinegar until its raw edge softens. Olive oil and parsley bring it together into something that feels considered without being fussy. The kind of thing Inês would eat standing at the kitchen counter before service.

Recipe by

Inês Tavares

The Bacalhau Devotee

Prep

15 min

Rest

5 min

Total

20 min

Method

Prepare the onion

Toss the sliced onion with a generous pinch of salt and let it sit for five minutes. This softens the bite and draws out some of the sharpness. Squeeze gently and discard the liquid.

Make the dressing

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, capers, salt, and black pepper until the dressing is well combined and slightly emulsified.

Assemble the salad

Add the drained white beans and flaked tuna to the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently to coat everything without breaking the tuna too much.

Fold in the prepared onion and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, lemon, or olive oil as needed.

Rest and serve

Let the salad sit for five minutes so the flavors marry. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled, with extra cracked pepper and a final drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Nutri-Score

Excellent balance

A–E · lower is better · score -6

Calories

639

per serving

High in protein · 43gSource of fibre · 10gLow sugar · 4gLow saturated fat · 4g

Protein

43g

Carbs

80g

Fat

18g

Sat. fat

Fiber

10g

Sugar

Sodium

591mg

Gluten FreeDairy FreePescatarianLow SugarHeart HealthyAnti InflammatoryDiabetes FriendlyWeight ManagementHigh ProteinOmega 3Fiber RichBalanced Macros

Nutri-Score is a general nutritional-balance guide, not medical or dietary advice.

Grade pending

Environmental impact

Estimated footprint

Grade pending · 69% ingredient coverage

kg CO₂e

≥0.3

per serving

White beans, drained and rinsed drives 57% of this recipe’s estimated footprint.

Carbon from Poore & Nemecek 2018; water, land & runoff from Agribalyse — modelled averages for comparing recipes, not a measurement of your groceries.

Flavor Profile

Umami

Sweet

Salty

Sour

Bitter

Spicy

Textures

FlakyCreamyTenderFresh

Aromas

HerbalBrinyCitrusPungent

Kitchen Equipment

Primary Tool

Large Bowl

Large BowlWhisk Chef Knife Cutting Board Wooden Spoon

Counter FootprintSmall

Techniques

Salting EmulsificationTossingResting

Safety & Storage

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers promptly within 2 hours of preparation. Store in an airtight container.

Shelf Life

Consume within 2-3 days when properly refrigerated.

Cross Contamination

Thoroughly wash cutting boards, utensils, and bowls after preparing raw onion and garlic before using for other foods.

High Risk Population

Raw garlic and raw onion may cause digestive irritation for elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised individuals. Use caution when serving to these populations.

Allergen Warning

This dish contains tuna (fish). Ensure no cross-contact with other ingredients during preparation.

Pro Tips

Technique

The salt on the onion is not negotiable—let it sit the full five minutes and squeeze out every drop of that bitter liquid. You want the onion softened, not pickled, just tamed enough to fold into the beans without overwhelming the gentle tuna.

Substitution

If you have soaked bacalhau in the fridge, flake it in place of the canned tuna and you have crossed the Atlantic entirely—this becomes Lisbon on a plate.

Make Ahead

This salad improves after twenty minutes of sitting. The beans drink the dressing, the garlic and capers bloom, and everything becomes greater than its parts. Make it in the morning, eat it by noon, and thank me.

From the chef

Good tuna in olive oil, white beans with their skins intact but giving gently inside, yellow onion sliced thin and tossed with salt until its sharpness softens — these three things do not need much else. A garlic paste worked into the dressing, red wine vinegar for the bright edge against the richness of the oil, parsley torn in at the end. Let it sit five minutes before you eat so everything settles and the flavors find each other. This is a salad that rewards restraint: the olive oil does the heavy lifting, and a final squeeze of lemon tells you when it is ready.

Inês TavaresThe Bacalhau Devotee

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TagsEasyQuickNo CookHealthyMediterraneanRusticColdHigh ProteinDairy Free

AllergensFish

Source: generated · May 30, 2026