It's been a hard day lazing in the sun by the pool; or at the beach; or looking at Abruzzo properties for sale; or up in the Gran Sasso; or shopping in Pescara; or simply just ambling round in the car, going where the mood takes you. Now, you're back in your Abruzzo villa rental and you feel like a bite to eat. Tonno e Fagioli is one of those great traditional Italian standbys that's ridiculously quick and easy to do; requires no cooking skills whatsoever; and never fails to amaze you how good it tastes. You'll need:

• a 200g can of good quality tuna in olive oil
• a 250g can/jar of cannellini beans
• a small red onion
• a small bunch of parsley
• a small fresh/dried chili (optional)

You'll also need a lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper - no need to buy these, we supply them - some good bread to mop up the juices and a nice chilled bottle of trebbiano. Or cerasuola. Your choice. Decisions, decisions… 

Go for a brand of tuna around €3.50-€4.50. Cheaper - and you'll get a tin full of tuna flakes and small pieces rather than a nice big chunk. And avoid the cheaper tins of cannellini beans. These are intended primarily for cooking use and aren't that great right out of the tin. The 'Valfrutta' range is our choice. It's widely-available and lets you see what you're buying. A jar is about €0.80.

This is what you do…
Empty the jar of beans into a colander and rinse them under the cold tap. Shake them dry and divide between two plates. Open the tin of tuna, pour off most of the oil. Put the tuna into a bowl and break it down a little with a fork. Put the tuna onto the beans. Fair shares please… 

Thinly slice the red onion and scatter as much or as little as you want over the top. If you're using a fresh or dried chili, now's the time to add it - finely chopped or crumbled to your taste. Next, a little sprinkle of chopped parsley before you round things off with a generous drizzle of our delicious locally-produced organic, unfiltered olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and black pepper. Eat contentedly.

Variations on a theme
If you're extra-hungry, or greedy, (or both) - put an egg in a pan of cold water, bring it to the boil and cook it for 4 minutes. Then run it under the cold tap, take the shell off, cut it in half while it's still warm and place it on the tuna and beans. The white will be set and the yolk will be very slightly runny at this point. It's about as authentically Italian as a Hawaiian Pizza, but it tastes great. 

And to follow your tonno e fagioli, maybe a slice or two of some local peccorino cheese; a little fruit; maybe a pastry or three from Pasticceria Pierrot in Selva. (Read about them here). That should set you up nicely for yet another day by the pool; or at the beach; or looking at Abruzzo properties for sale; or up in the Gran Sasso; or shopping in Pescara; or simply just ambling round in the car; or anything that takes your fancy really.

Yes, more tough decisions…(and more ideas soon for simple, delicious things for you to eat in your Abruzzo villa rental !)

(Click on pictures in text for larger images) 

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 8:36 am and is filed under Eating and Drinking, Daily Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.