Farro Salad with Tuna and Beans: The Complete and Tasty One-Dish Meal
There’s a secret to tackling your days with energy without giving up the pleasure of eating well: combining taste and lightness in a single dish!
The Farro Tuna and Bean Salad with Red Onion is exactly this: a recipe that celebrates simplicity and completeness, bringing to the table a concentrate of Mediterranean flavors and essential nutrients.
Forget about the usual sad lunches or boring dinners; this salad is a true explosion of taste, color, and textures, designed for those looking for a healthy, satisfying, and incredibly versatile alternative.
Farro, an ancient grain with a delicate flavor and pleasantly firm texture, perfectly complements the saltiness of the tuna, the creaminess of the beans, and the vibrancy of the red onion.
The addition of fresh lamb’s lettuce and a touch of lemon zest transforms a simple mix of ingredients into a balanced and surprising culinary experience.
It’s the ideal dish for a light yet substantial lunch, a summer dinner with friends, or for your weekly meal prep.
Quick to prepare and easy to customize, I will show you how to combine a few genuine ingredients to create a salad that will make you fall in love at first taste.
A true “never without” for a healthy, practical, and flavorful kitchen!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 313.41 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.67 (g) of which sugars 4.29 (g)
- Proteins 21.00 (g)
- Fat 8.27 (g) of which saturated 1.36 (g)of which unsaturated 3.30 (g)
- Fibers 7.12 (g)
- Sodium 331.75 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients FARRO AND TUNA Servings for 4 people:
- 1 cup cup farro (pearled or hulled)
- 5.6 oz oz tuna in olive oil
- 3.5 oz oz canned cannellini beans (or borlotti drained and rinsed)
- 1 Tropea red onion (medium)
- 1.75 oz oz lamb's lettuce
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch black pepper (ground)
- lemon zest (optional, for garnish)
- chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- Pot
- Bowl
- Mandoline
- Small Bowl
PROCEDURE Farro Tuna and Bean Salad
Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the farro and cook it for the time indicated on the package (usually about 20 minutes for pearled farro). Once cooked, drain it well and transfer it to a large bowl. Immediately dress it with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to prevent it from sticking and fluff with a fork. Let it cool completely.
While the farro cools, peel the red onion and slice it into very thin rings using a sharp knife or a mandoline. Separate the slices with your hands. If you prefer a milder flavor, you can soak the onion in cold water for about 10-15 minutes before draining.
In the bowl with the now-cooled farro, add the tuna in olive oil, well drained of its excess oil and coarsely crumbled with your hands. Also, add the washed and dried lamb’s lettuce and the red onion slices.
Drain the beans from their canning liquid, rinse them thoroughly under cold running water, and let them drain well. Add them to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl. Dress the salad with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a grind of black pepper. If you like, also add some grated lemon zest for a citrusy and fragrant touch.
Mix the farro salad with tuna and beans so that all the ingredients are evenly dressed. Serve immediately, perhaps garnishing with a bit of fresh chopped parsley to taste for a touch of color and aroma.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
FARRO: Farro can be pearled (quicker to cook) or hulled (more whole grain and nutritious, requires soaking and longer cooking).
TUNA IN OLIVE OIL: Tuna in olive oil is essential for flavor, but for a lighter version, you can use tuna in water, compensating with a little more EVO oil.
BEANS: Canned cannellini (or borlotti) beans are convenient, but if you prefer, you can cook them from dry.
ONION: Red onion is preferable for its sweeter flavor.
SALAD: Lamb’s lettuce adds freshness, but you can replace it with arugula, baby spinach, or finely chopped lettuce.
LEMON: Lemon zest is optional but highly recommended for a citrusy touch that elevates the dish.
STORAGE
The farro salad with tuna and beans is also perfect when prepared in advance! It stores beautifully in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days. In fact, letting it rest for a few hours allows the flavors to meld better, making it even tastier. It’s a great solution for meal prep lunches at the office or a picnic.
ALTERNATIVES AND VARIATIONS
This salad is incredibly versatile; you can enrich and vary it as you like!
Extra Vegetables: Add 3.5 oz of cherry tomatoes halved, 1.75 oz of sweet corn, or 2.8 oz of diced cucumbers for more freshness and color.
Mediterranean Touch: For a more intense flavor, add 1.75 oz of pitted Taggiasca olives or 1 tablespoon of desalted capers.
Different Proteins: If you don’t like tuna, you can replace it with 5.3 oz of boiled or grilled chicken cut into cubes, or with 5.3 oz of boiled shrimp. For a vegetarian version, increase the amount of beans to 7 oz and add 3.5 oz of primo sale cheese cut into cubes.
New Flavors: Try using fresh mint instead of parsley, or add a pinch of chili pepper for a spicy note.
USE AND PAIRINGS
This farro salad is a complete and balanced one-dish meal, perfect for a quick lunch break, a light yet satisfying dinner, or as the star of a summer buffet or outdoor picnic. Its versatility makes it suitable for different occasions. It pairs wonderfully with a glass of fresh water flavored with lemon and ginger, or with a light and fruity white wine, such as a Ligurian Vermentino or a Greco di Tufo. If you love beers, a light and refreshing lager will be the perfect pairing.
Origins and History of the Recipe
The idea of combining grains, legumes, and fish in cold salads has ancient roots in Mediterranean cuisine, where the availability of simple and nutritious ingredients has given rise to complete and balanced dishes. Farro, in particular, is one of the oldest grains cultivated by humans, a staple of the diet of Romans and Egyptians, which has returned to prominence for its nutritional properties and versatility.
The combination with tuna, historically preserved in oil to make it available all year round, and beans, a staple of the peasant diet, is a perfect example of “recovery” cuisine and popular wisdom. This modern “farro salad” is an evolution of those ancient preparations, adapted to contemporary tastes and needs. It combines Mediterranean tradition with the practicality of today, offering a dish that is both healthy, tasty, and rooted in a history of simple and genuine eating.
My Secret Touch for Extra Flavor!
To make this salad even more irresistible, I’ll reveal a little trick! Before dressing it, try adding a tablespoon of Ligurian pesto to the cooled farro (yes, I’m biased, but trust me!) or a mix of finely chopped fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, and marjoram. This will give your dish an extra boost, a scent that will immediately evoke summer! Try it and let me know your favorite touch!
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
1. Can I use hulled farro instead of pearled?
Of course! Hulled farro is richer in fiber and nutrients but will require soaking for several hours (at least 8-12) and a longer cooking time (about 40-60 minutes). Pearled farro is more practical because it doesn’t require soaking and cooks faster.
2. Is it a good dish for children?
Yes, it’s a great option! For children, you might crumble the tuna more finely and use less onion (or omit it if they don’t like it). It’s a way to get them to eat grains and legumes in a tasty format.
3. Can I make it in advance for a packed lunch?
Absolutely yes! In fact, it’s ideal. Prepare it the night before, store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and it will be perfect for your lunch at work or a picnic the next day. The flavors will have melded even better!
