I admit, I am a huge fan of pasta. Every year from my other half’s birthday I make a tray of lasagna bolognese with homemade noodles. Sooo damn good. Then there are times you want a nice cold pasta salad to go along side a nice grilled steak or chicken. That’s where this recipe comes in. No, you don’t have to make from scratch tortellini, though I do recommend giving making pasta a spin, it so different from the stuff you get at the store in a good way. There’s a lot of great flavor in this salad and it stores well in the fridge as leftovers. I do highly recommend let this chill out in the fridge for a few hours before eating to allow the flavors time to mingle and everything to get nice and cold.
Italian Tortellini Salad
Servings – 6 to 8 depending on how you serve up.
Ingredients
- 19 ounce bag of frozen cheese tortellini
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup pitted, diced kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/4 cup roasted red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Feta (optional)
Directions
- Cook the frozen pasta according to package directions. Once done cooking run cold water over them to cool them down.
- Mix all the ingredients above except the feta.
- Serve and top with feta (if desired)
- Enjoy!
