Big-batch recipe · Mediterranean
White bean and tuna stew
6 portions, about 34 g of protein in each. 15 minutes of hands-on work and 40 min of cooking.
Where it sits in the week
What this one is for
On the mediterranean track this is a Sunday cook — the long session, which covers Monday to Wednesday. Cooked once, portioned hot, and eaten across the days that session covers — on the seven-day plan it turns up at Monday lunch, Wednesday lunch and Saturday dinner.
Two portions is about 68 g of protein — our own arithmetic on the figure above, not a separate measurement. Protein targets on this site are computed against goal weight or lean mass rather than scale weight, which is the whole of Real Fuel.
Part of the mediterranean meal plan, cooked in the two-session prep schedule.
What goes in
- 3 cans (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained
- 4 cans (5 oz) tuna in olive oil, oil and all
- 1 can (28 oz) chopped tomatoes
- 2 onions, 2 fennel bulbs, 8 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more to serve
- 2 tsp chilli flakes, 2 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves
- Juice of 2 lemons, a bunch of parsley
How
- Soften the onion, fennel and garlic in the olive oil for 12 minutes. This is a stew that lives on the base, so give it the time.
- Tomatoes, herbs and one can of beans crushed with a fork — that is what thickens it. Simmer 20 minutes.
- The other two cans of beans in whole, warm through for 5 minutes.
- Tuna, lemon and parsley off the heat. Cooking the tuna makes it dry and stringy.
Keeping it: Fridge 4 days, freezer 2 months. Add a fresh slug of olive oil and more lemon when you reheat — both fade in the fridge.
Nothing on this page is medical advice. It is a plan written for general strength training in healthy adults, and any condition or medication you are managing outranks it.
Doing it cheaper
Swaps that apply to this one
From the mediterranean track's budget version, filtered to the ingredients this recipe actually uses.
| Instead of | Use | Why it is worth it |
|---|---|---|
| Canned beans | Dried, soaked overnight | About half the cost per gram of protein, and they hold their shape better in a long stew. |
| Small bottles of olive oil | The three-litre tin | This plan uses a lot of oil. Buying it in a small bottle is the quiet way this track gets expensive. |
| Out-of-season tomatoes and peppers | Tinned tomatoes and frozen peppers | Better flavour for a stew than a pale winter tomato, at a third of the price. |
The prices behind these swaps, with sources, are in the protein-per-dollar table.
The rest of the mediterranean week
3 more big-batch recipes on this track, plus the seven-day plan they feed.