Tortellini Pasta Salad (Printable Version)
Tender cheese tortellini tossed with crisp vegetables, mozzarella balls, and zesty Italian dressing. A vibrant Italian-American classic.
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 1 lb fresh cheese tortellini
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - 1 cup cucumber, diced
04 - 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
05 - ½ cup black olives, sliced
06 - ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
→ Cheese & Herbs
07 - ½ cup mozzarella balls (bocconcini), halved
08 - ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
→ Dressing
09 - ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
10 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
11 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
12 - 1 clove garlic, minced
13 - ½ tsp dried oregano
14 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
# Method:
01 - Boil tortellini according to package directions until al dente. Drain thoroughly and rinse under cold running water to halt cooking process. Set aside to cool completely.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced red bell pepper, sliced black olives, chopped red onion, halved mozzarella balls, and chopped fresh basil.
03 - Whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until emulsified.
04 - Add cooled tortellini to the vegetable mixture. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss gently until all ingredients are evenly coated.
05 - Refrigerate salad for minimum 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Toss again immediately before serving.
# Expert Tricks:
01 -
- It travels beautifully and actually gets better after sitting in the fridge for a few hours
- The combination of cold tender tortellini with crisp vegetables is incredibly satisfying
02 -
- Rinse the cooked tortellini thoroughly under cold water or it will keep cooking and turn mushy
- The salad needs time in the fridge to let the pasta soak up the dressing
03 -
- Cut your vegetables slightly larger than you think you need, they shrink a bit after sitting in the dressing
- Make the dressing in a jar and shake it up, it is faster and emulsifies better than whisking