I love Italian!

The May issue of bon appetit is The Italy Issue. Pretty much everything in it is inspiring. I started with a salad because that's what I start thinking of in spring. This salad has some of my favorite things including canned tuna, potatoes and arugula. Plus it's warm! Look on page 38 for more ideas with canned tuna.

Warm potato and tuna salad my way

~3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, rinsed
1 medium shallot, minced
4 ribs celery, trimmed and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
1 spring fresh thyme
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
whole peppercorns
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
2 small cans Italian tuna packed in olive oil
several handfuls of arugula
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped (See note below)

Boil potatoes in salted water with 1/2 of the shallots, 1/2 celery, the carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Add 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns. Boil gently until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Let cool slightly and slice. Toss with about 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Set aside.

Drain the tuna and mix with chopped capers and the other 1/2 of the shallots and celery. Add another tablespoon or so of the red wine vinegar and toss with the sliced potatoes. Add the arugula and toss. Add more olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with hard boiled eggs.

Serve while warm. Delish! This really hit the spot. It would be great with some crusty bread and a crisp glass of wine. Enjoy!

Note: I have a good method for perfect hard boiled eggs that my cousin, Lisa, taught me many years ago. Place eggs in pot or tea kettle with lid in cold water. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and if the lid is not on put on. Let sit in water for 10 minutes. The eggs will be hard boiled but not gray/green. The beauty of the tea kettle is that it tells you when the water is boiling so that you don't overcook them. Remove from the water and rinse in cold water and crack. Peel when ready or after they've cooled.