Lunch Like Giada With This Tuscan Specialty

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If you're lucky enough find yourself in Tuscany, you'll be sure to spot one thing on almost every menu: white beans!

While not as popular here in the US, white beans are a very common specialty in Tuscany that you'll find on just about every single menu: from main courses stewed with tomato sauce and meatballs to a creamy side dish with greens. Giada implements white beans in several of her most popular recipes (white bean dip or a bowl of minestrone, anyone?)
While the succulence and creaminess of local Tuscan white beans is unbeatable, we like to use high quality cans of Cannelini or Great Northern beans to get pretty darn close. One of our favorite simple lunch salads from Giada features white beans as the star, along with arugula, thinly sliced red onions and briney capers. A lemony-maple dressing ties it all together for a bright and flavorful light lunch that will transport you straight to Florence.