How to Make Stanley Tucci's Favorite Summer Salad and a BIG Announcement

I'm diving into the deep end...

Jul 24, 2024

Exciting News…Starting next Thursday, my paid subscribers will get weekly budget-friendly & delicious meal plans with shopping list, new recipes and optional meal prep strategy in addition to my regular perks. My current pricing will increase August 1st so subscribe now and to be “grandfathered in” at current pricing forever.

Now onto this fabulous and easy recipe…

If you haven’t discovered Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” yet, I highly recommend it. A fan since the first movie I saw him in decades ago, watching him travel and eat in his homeland has made me appreciate him even more.

When I saw Mr. Tucci roll across Instagram with his San Pelligrino ad couched in an easy-going reel of him making this salad, I knew I had to recreate it. I thought about doing a video of my own, but why compete with a great? Rather, I’m presenting it to you, with nary a change (in Stanley Tucci voice) other than giving it some structure via a recipe.

What’s in Stanley Tucci’s Favorite Summer Salad?

This simple salad stars all the summer greats that you probably have overflowing on your kitchen counter if you frequent farmers’ markets or have a garden, plus a few extra pantry ingredients. And if you saw last week’s post, you may be thinking…"tuna, again?" It was not intentional, I just saw this recipe and it seemed so appropro for this week since all these things are in season and cooking is not required (although Stanley cooked one ingredient.)

Tomatoes
Red Onions
Cucumbers
Basil
Cannellini Beans
Tuna
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Ingredients Mandate

This recipe is only as good as the ingredients. Don’t even attempt this with wilty basil or grocery store tomatoes (See #1 for why). You and Stanley WILL diverge in your opinions of this salad should you do so.

1) Don’t Refrigerate Tomatoes

If you don’t have a garden, seek out a true farmers’ market or a friend who has a garden for tomatoes. But ask if the tomatoes have been refrigerated. If they say “yes”, move on graciously. Grocery store tomatoes have all been refrigerated from the time they were picked so don’t even bother.

2) Buy the Pot Not the Box

Look for potted basil (and other herbs) if you aren’t already growing it rather than buying it in a box. This is hard to store without it wilting quickly and it’s super expensive comparatively. Use what you need from the plant, water it and put it in a sunny place. You will have basil for the rest of the summer.

TIP: Farmers’ Markets usually have someone selling potted herbs or if you have a Trader Joe’s, they have the best deals and a variety of potted herbs.

3) Drown Your Onions

If you don’t like the sharp, almost hot, flavor of raw onions, slice them first and salt well then cover with warm water while you prep the remaining ingredients. Drain and rinse well before adding to your salad

No Cooking Necessary, But Should You?

Stanley suggests warming the Cannelini beans prior to adding, so I’m warming the beans. I see his point as warmth could bring out the intensive summer flavor of basil and tomatoes. It didn’t seem to really change things for me so you can certainly simply drain, rinse and toss them in if turning on the stove deters you from trying it. I’m leaving the warming instructions in the recipe PDF below.

Pulling It All Together

Other than warming the beans, Stanley slid all the chopped ingredients from the cutting board into a big bowl, added the tuna and warm beans then tossed it together with copious amounts of olive oil. Easy, Peasy and it fit into a reel without editing.

Since I wasn’t making a reel, here’s where I fudged a bit on “not changing a thing” - but it’s only the method for prepping the onions and tomatoes not ingredients.

Thinly slice red onions and add to a small bowl. Sprinkle liberally with salt and massage a bit then cover with warm water. As mentioned above, this cuts the sharpness of fresh onions.
Cut tomatoes into 1” chunks or halve cherry tomatoes depending on what you found in your garden or at the market. Cover with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. This allows the juices of the tomatoes to mingle with the olive oil creating a natural dressing with the acid of the tomatoes.
Warm the Cannellini beans per Mr. Tucci or don’t, chef’s choice.
Rinse and drain the onions well.
Now you can proceed with his method…combine everything in a large bowl and toss gently with two large wooden spoons or nature’s utensils, your hands avoiding breaking up the tuna too much.
Serve in shallow bowls with an extra drizzle of olive oil.

What I Would Maybe Do Differently

As a creative in general, and recipe developer specifically, I rarely give recipes a chance. Instead, I immediately see what I would do differently and make it like that. But this time, I wanted to enjoy the pure flavors without changing anything the first go round.

I liked it just the way it was; possibly enough to not change a thing, but were I to get bored and want to change something, (which I am wont to do - again in Stanley voice) here’s a few ideas:

Sear a tuna steak and slice to serve on top rather than mixing it in
Warm the cannelini beans with a little olive oil
Add a little lemon juice for acidity and brightness
Try fresh oregano instead of or in addition to basil
Serve over some baby lettuces or arugula for a bigger salad

An Alternative to the Salad

This is my brain for you…as I was typing out the notes below I had this thought…PASTA!! Full disclosure, I haven’t tried this, but in theory it will be good. If you try it this way, let me know in the comments or chat what you think.

If you want to try this as an entree, cook some pasta and follow the directions in the recipe for prepping everything omitting the cucumber. Gently toss the warm beans, olive oil soaked tomatoes and pasta together gently, then add the tuna, basil and onion. Serve with extra olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.

Notes

Make Ahead - Keeping the tomatoes room temp is paramount. The only way you could make this ahead of time is to combine everything except basil and tomatoes in one container to chill drizzling with 2 tbsp olive oil before tossing. Combine tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper in a separate container and leave at room temperature for up to 6 hours. Add the basil in when you add the tomatoes as basil will wilt and turn brown if left in the salad too long.
Portable lunch - Follow the directions above, except divide the tuna, bean and veggie mixture between lunch containers. Each day, before work, cut up tomatoes into a small jar and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to cover about halfway. Season with salt and pepper and leave them at your desk until lunch. Store the basil in a small bag taped to each salad bowl. Add tomatoes and basil to the other ingredients just before eating.
Whole30/Keto/Paleo - Omit the beans and use extra tuna.
Vegetarian/Vegan - Omit the tuna and use extra beans

Full Recipe PDF

ICYMI…Starting next Thursday, my paid subscribers will get weekly budget-friendly & delicious meal plans with shopping list, new recipes and optional meal prep strategy in addition to my regular perks. My current pricing will increase August 1st so subscribe now and to be “grandfathered in” at current pricing forever.

Now download this recipe and try it. Hit the ❤️ button and let me know what you think after you do.