Janelle Maiocco

Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I live in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle on an Urban Farm (w/ five laying hens and a huge garden). I am a trained chef (w/ a certificate in food preservation), taught at a cooking school & like to share 'kitchen hacks' - culinary tips that save time, money & maximize flavor. If that isn't enough, I also run a food+tech startup called Barn2Door.com - a platform to help everyone easily find & buy food directly from farmers, fishers & ranchers (from CSA's to urban farm eggs to 1/2 a grass-fed cow).

arugula, white bean and tuna salad

arugula, white bean and tuna salad

tuna salad www.talkoftomatoes.com
tuna salad www.talkoftomatoes.com

I could just call this 'resolute salad,' since it is my quick version of a New Year's resolution. It is that time of year again to reverse the results of holiday eating and imbibing, to go lighter on the bread, cut down portion size and drink water like it is going out of style. But one need not suffer.

In fact, this salad is a preferable choice for lunch. And the beans and tuna give it enough 'meat' to keep your belly happy for hours (no need for mid afternoon lunching to fill the watery-lettuce void). The white beans are classic Italian fare (white or cannellini beans), as is the tuna, arugula and fabulous olive oil.

Arugula, White Bean and Tuna Salad arugula white beans (from a can works) tuna fish (packed in olive oil, then drained) olive oil, to taste kosher salt and coarse pepper (KS&CP)

Pile ingredients.

A few twists:

  • I like to add shaved Parmesan, I think the salty bite is brilliant against the tangy arugula and tuna. We use our best olive oil, since it goes straight from the bottle to our mouths (we use our second class olive oil for cooking). We differ in opinion on this, while my husband skips the balsamic, sometimes I add a squirt of reduced balsamic vinegar. You could add: really seasonal, perfectly ripened cherry or baby Roma tomatoes. Lots of freshly ground pepper is key, the more the better.

New Year's resolutions aside... or forward... this really is a healthy, scrumptious lunch.

wild boar sauce (cinghiale ragu)

wild boar sauce (cinghiale ragu)

Basic Tomato Sauce

Basic Tomato Sauce