Fennel, Celery, and Green Bean Salad
with lentils / tuna / caper-dill vinaigrette
This salad has it all - crisp veggies, savory tuna, tender lentils, and a zesty, herbal dressing. It's a fresh riff on nicoise salad (a community favorite), and one we think you'll love.
Smarts: Oil-packed tuna is especially delicious in this salad, but feel free to use any type of canned tuna.
Ingredients
- Fennel - 1 bulb , cored and thinly sliced
- Celery - 2 stalks , thinly sliced
- Green beans - 12 oz , trimmed
- Tomatoes, cherry or grape - 1 cup , halved
- Tuna, canned (preferably oil-packed) - 12 oz , drained (sub any canned tuna)
- Bread, baguette - 1 small
- Mixed greens - 8 oz
- Lentils, cooked French or green - 2 cups , use pre-cooked lentils, or if cooking from dried, use half the amount of dried and prepare according to package directions
- Walnuts (opt) - 1/4 cup , for serving
- Butter (opt) - for serving
- Capers - 1 Tbsp , drained and rinsed
- Dill, fresh - 2 tsp , chopped
- Vinegar, sherry - 2 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp
Prep
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Fennel / Celery / Green beans - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating first.) Prep as directed. Store fennel and celery together in one container. Store green beans separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
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Make vinaigrette - Drain and rinse capers and chop dill. Combine capers, dill, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and olive oil and blend everything together with an immersion blender (you can also chop the capers and whisk or shake the dressing by hand, if you prefer). Season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
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Cook green beans - Place green beans in a pan large enough to hold them and cover with well-salted water. Bring to a simmer. Simmer the beans until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes (cook times will vary depending on the thickness of the beans). If you prefer, you can microwave the beans under a layer of damp paper towels for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the beans and immediately run them under cold water until they feel lukewarm to the touch. This will halt the cooking process and keep them nice and bright green. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Tomatoes - Prep as directed.
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Tuna - Drain.
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Make
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Heat oven to 400 F / 204 C degrees.
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Place baguette in the oven, directly on the oven rack. Bake until warm and toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. If using a parbaked baguette, follow package instructions. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.
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While baguette bakes, combine mixed greens, celery, and fennel in a large bowl. Toss with about half of the vinaigrette.
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If you’d like the lentils warm for the salad, heat them briefly in the microwave.
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Divide salad among serving plates. Arrange lentils, tuna, tomatoes, green beans, and walnuts (if using) on top.
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Slice the baguette and spread slices with butter, if you’d like.
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Serve salads with extra vinaigrette for drizzling over top and toasted baguette slices on the side. Enjoy!
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