Marcella (white) Beans with Tuna + Pickled Onions

Clearly I have a big batch of white beans. Even better, they're Marcella beans! How did I never think to make tuna salad this way? It's light, filling, and just yummy. I would serve it on greens, with fresh bread, or both. I'm also pretty sure I used my Katz Pinot Noir vinegar on this and it was perfect, even with all the substitutions because I couldn't wait to try it.

St. Helena chef and owner of Panevino David Katz prepared this white bean and tuna salad with pickled onions for a screening of the Marcella film at the Cameo Theater recently. It's his adaptation of a favorite recipe by Marcella Hazan, using our Marcella beans of course!

Serves 4 to 6

3 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Marcella beans, drained well
6 oz excellent quality tuna in olive oil, drained well and flaked with a fork (a 7 oz can yields 6 oz) (I went with a 5 oz can of Wild Planet tuna in water for a half recipe, so I might use 2 cans if making the full recipe)
2 cups very thinly sliced celery with leaves (No celery, so I used up the remainder of the fennel. Pretty sure other thin crunchy vegetables would work)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or to taste (Katz Pinot Noir vinegar for the win!)
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and chopped (No capers so it was chopped cornichons)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pickled Red Onions to taste (amazingly I did have those!)

1. In a medium bowl, combine the beans, tuna, celery, olive oil, vinegar, and capers (or whatever mixture of crunchy & sour you're using). Toss lightly to combine well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Toss again and top with pickled onion to taste just before serving.