by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Appetizers, Favorite Recipes, Fish, Salads
Last year, while dining at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Boulder, Pizzeria Locale, we ordered their Mare Chiaro (“Clear Sea”) salad. But unfortunately, it is no longer on the menu, so I surprised my family, and tried to recreate it at home. This salad is a great combination of bitter, sweet and salty. I purchase this incredibly authentic Italian jarred Tuna, which is the belly cut of tuna in oil giving it a rich tuna flavor with a little added salt. The dressing is one that I have made for my arugula bean crostini. I used the Eden organic brand cannellini beans (white kidney beans) as they pack them in bisphenol-A (BPA) free can linings.
Ingredients:
Dressing:
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
- 4 cups baby arugula
- 1 can of organic Cannellini Beans (or white kidney beans)
- 1 jar of Tuna Ventresca
- ½ cup sliced Parmesan Cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
For the dressing, mix the lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Then Slowly whisk in the olive oil, ensuring it doesn’t separate. Split the dressing in half. Add in arugula to one large bowl lightly toss. Add the beans, tuna and parmesan into the second bowl of dressing and toss. Add some salt and pepper to the bean and tuna mixture. Place a bunch of arugula on to each plate, then add 2 heaping tablespoons of the tuna and bean mixture. For decoration you can also add one slice of the parmesan on top of the tuna mixture.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Appetizers, Salads
If you are looking for a healthy protein appetizer for the holidays, here is a fun little crostini with some lemon dressed arugula, cannellini beans (white kidney beans), organic chicken breast and slices of parmesan cheese. I actually mainly use organic ingredients for most of my dishes, including this one. I used the Eden organic brand beans as they pack them in bisphenol-A (BPA) free can linings. I also found a great canned organic chicken breast by Valley Fresh Organic White Chicken Breast or you can also use the breast from a baked chicken.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 tsp of sugar or ½ tsp of raw honey for the Paleo fans
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups baby arugula
- 1 can of organic Cannellini Beans (or white kidney beans)
- 1 can (12.5 oz.) of organic chicken breast
- ½ cup sliced Parmesan Cheese
- 16 crostini (Make sure they are not too thick)
Mix the first 4 ingredients into a large bowl. Split the dressing in half. Add in arugula to one bowl lightly toss. Add the beans, chicken and parmesan into the second bowl of dressing and toss. Add some salt and pepper to the bean and chicken mixture. Place a pinch of the arugula onto the crostini, then add a heaping tablespoon of the chicken and bean mixture. For decoration you can also add one slice of the parmesan on top of the chicken. If your crostinis are too thick or hard, I tried spooning some of the dressing on them before stacking ingredients, as it softens up the bread a little. (Be sure to account for additional dressing if you do this). Test it out to see what works best for you before you serve this to your guests.
