Tuna Chef's Salad

Ok, this isn't a chef's salad in the traditional sense, but I couldn't figure out what to call it.  It isn't Niçoise, though that was an inspiration.  This Mediterranean-ish main dish salad came together with pantry items and a quick vinaigrette.  Plus two sad little cherry tomatoes from the garden.  Eventually, my tomatoes will ripen.  Someday.

I pulled out one of the kale.  It was damaged a couple of months ago and was sprouting leaves in all kinds of crazy directions.  It was also smaller than the other two and not likely to recover from whatever raccoon trauma was inflicted.  And I seriously don't need any more kale.  I've stopped freezing it.  Any extras are going to be given to my boss for her smoothies.  I used whatever was left on the stalk and the ends of the cabbage from the steaks as my greens.

This was the first time I opened a pressure-canned jar.  This kind of dish is why I made the asparagus.  The terror that I might be poisoning myself was real, but everything went fine.  It tasted the same as the jar I had that failed to seal, exactly like commercially bought canned asparagus.

I've never bought canned lima beans before.  They live in the canned vegetable section, not with the canned beans, so I don't think about them.  We would have them from frozen when I was growing up, but I don't remember the last time I had those.  I definitely like them and will start stocking a can or two.  If you really hate them, sub in green beans.

*4 C salad greens of choice
*2 cans tuna, drained
*1 can asparagus, drained
*16-ish pitted kalamata olives
*1 can sliced beets, drained
1 can lima beans, drained
1 dry pint cherry tomatoes
*1/2 C crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C olive oil
*2 Tb white wine vinegar
*1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper

1.  Whisk together oil, vinegar, tarragon, salt, and pepper.  Set dressing aside while you assemble the salad.

2.  Arrange greens in serving bowl or on individual plates.

3.  In little sections, arrange tuna, asparagus, olives, beets, tomatoes, and lima beans.  Try to mix up the colors to make it more eye-catching.

4.  Drizzle dressing on the salad, then top with feta.

Difficulty rating  π