Tuna and White Bean Salad

I really love salads.  Unfortunately, I don't really like to make salads.  They feel labour intensive and time consuming to me.  I'm trying to work through this faulty logic as I have no trouble making other dishes that take much longer and frankly, salads are just such a healthy supper option.  

This recipe was found in the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine (the same issue with the roasted tomato/asparagus dish).  I've only made a few changes to it as it was pretty perfect already.  My adapted version of the recipe is below.  This recipe makes enough for two large dinner salads.  

Ingredients

• 10 asparagus spears
• 1 tsp capers, drained
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
• 2 tbsp good quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter, melted 
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper 
• 1/2 container grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered 
• 1/2 can (19-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 head butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces 
• 1 avocado, sliced into 1/2 inch squares
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta (optional)
• 2 (5-ounce) cans solid white tuna packed in olive oil, drained and broken into chunks 
• 
  

• Preparation

  1. 1. Snap off tough ends of asparagus spears. Steam asparagus, covered, for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
  2. 2. Combine capers and the next 7 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
  3. 3. Place 1/2 juice mixture, cherry tomatoes, and beans in a small bowl; toss gently to combine.
  4. 4. Divide the torn lettuce between two salad bowls.  Top each serving with 5 asparagus spears. 
  5. 5. Spoon about 1/3 cup white bean mixture over each serving, and top with can of tuna.  
  6. 6. Add 1 tbsp feta to each salad along with half of the diced avocado.  Drizzle each salad with about 1 tablespoon remaining juice mixture.
  
  
  
  
  Cooking tip - Be sure to buy the tuna packed in oil for this recipe.  Tuna packed in water is lower in calories but much lower in flavour.  You'll be happy to make the switch!