Italian potato, green bean and tuna salad for the summer win!

This one with all its possibilities is on repeat for this hot, hot summer! ☀️ And new artisans from Sicily and Amalfi in our shop ....

I have been studying with an online Italian tutor for over 2 years - a (mostly) weekly lesson where I am painstakingly learning all the various Italian verb tenses. My tutor, Lucia, lives in Parma and was born outside Naples. Our lessons usually devolve into a discussion (in Italian of course) on what we are cooking with a good dose of grammar sprinkled in …. great practice as I fumble through ‘I cooked’, ‘I will cook’, ‘I (recently) cooked’, ‘I cook all the time’, ‘I wish I could cook’ - and on and on. (I can see the 14th-century creators of Italian, drinking their huge chalices of vino around a large wooden table, drunk as a skunk and guffawing as they created yet another verb tense to stump the humble masses! 😊)

This past lesson she joined me from her parent’s house near the sea outside of Naples (sigh…), both of us complaining about the recent heat waves here in the US and Italy. I asked her what she eats the most on these hot summer days and she immediately said …insalata di patate, fagiolini e tonno. Easy to make, easy to take to the spiaggia, and a favorite with her two small children.

My mouth immediately watered. (Sidenote: one of my favorite Italian expressions - ‘ho l'acquolina in bocca’ - I have water in my mouth. 😊) I haven’t had this salad in such a long time so I knew it was time to make it and add it to the summer rotation. This salad is so easy to make ahead and there are so many variations to play with.

Insalata di patate, fagiolini e tonno (Italian potato, green bean and tuna salad)

I made this salad for dinner the very next night. This might go without saying but be sure to use the freshest beans and potatoes you can find. A good spicy extra-virgin olive oil works beautifully in this dish. This dish transforms a few individual ingredients into something sublime.

For my version, I added some sliced red onion that I allowed to marinate in the vinegar dressing while I made the potatoes and beans. This helps them mellow a bit. I also had some beautiful plump green Castelvetrano olives in the fridge so I pitted them and tossed them in as well.

I did get this down to one pot by starting the potatoes on the stove and when they were tender, adding the green beans to the same pot for about a minute until they were crisp-tender and then drained everything in a single colander. I rinsed them under cold water until the potatoes were cool enough to handle yet still warm - so they could absorb all the delicious vinaigrette flavor. (Green bean purists might balk at this approach as the beans may not be as vibrant if they had been cooked separately and plunged into an ice bath after cooking…but if you ask me, it IS summer and it IS hot. My beans were perfectly crisp-tender. My 2 cents is that no one will care if your beans are not quite so vibrant green. And it is one less step and pot!)

Once the salad is mixed, allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow the beautiful flavors to meld. It is even more delicious the next day although sadly yes, the beans will lose some of their brightness due to the acidity from the vinaigrette. So if you want bright, bright green beans, be sure to assemble about 30 to 60 minutes before serving.

As I mentioned the variations on this are endless! A few that are on my list:

• Add hardboiled eggs

• Add cooked chickpeas or cannellini beans (or swap them out for the potatoes)

• Swap in briny capers for the olives

• Add mint to give it a Sicilian flair

• Add in high-season, juicy cherry tomatoes

• Swap in shrimp, fresh tuna, or maybe anchovies (yum!) for the canned tuna (tinned fish are very IN right now!)

• Serve over a bed of butter (or other) lettuce

So much fun! Recipe is below and please do let us know if you make it!!

Click the button below to get the recipe:

or head on over to OurItalianTable.com!

And if you are in the mood for a little summer shopping….we have 2 new artisans and their beautiful products in our shop ❤️

First, from Sicily, we are now carrying handcrafted silkscreened fabrics from COLORI DEL SOLE

Visiting the Colori del Sole factory near Palermo

I fell in love with this brand when I was in Palermo in 2023. The colors are as if the Sicilian sun is woven into every product. When they invited me to see their production, I was hooked. As you can see in the video below, each piece is hand silkscreened…so cool. Their handcrafted products are inspired by the shapes, colors, and decorations typical of Sicily's historical and cultural heritage. And they strongly believe that tradition is beauty to be protected and preserved.

We are so excited to have them arrive on the shores of America! Headed to the pool or beach? Choose from their very cool bucket hats or beach bags.

Colori del Sole: Beach and pool collection

Or if you are stuck inside cooking, some of their kitchen and table linens will brighten things up 😊

Colori del Sole: Kitchen and table linens

And from the sundrenched Amalfi Coast, we now have artisanal soaps from Casa Amalfi

We found these sunny artisans through friends on Capri and couldn’t wait to carry their line of fragrant soaps ….all of which are 100% vegan and animal-free and made with love by artisans along the Amalfi Coast.

We love love love the scents! Choose single bars or three packs and their is a gorgeous ceramic soap dish as well! (we are a little partial to Sunday in Napoli - it has notes of tomato leaf and magnolia!)

Casa Amalfi: Soap collection

To say grazie for reading this far and for being a treasured subscriber, please use the code GRAZIE for a 10% discount on anything in our artisan shop. ❤️ And orders over $150 automatically get one of our very fun new market totes to also say grazie 🙏

A big thank you for reading this far…..enjoy the hot, hot summer!! Buon estate!! ⛱️ Hugs!

Alla prossima!