Monday, August 1, 2011

Tortellini Salad

Recipe adapted from:
www.food.com

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package frozen cheese tortellini
1/2 white onions or 1/2 red onion
1/2 green bell pepper
1 (4 1/4 ounce) can black olives
1 -2 cup crumbled feta or 1 -2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt & pepper

Preparation:
1. Start by defrosting/cooking the cheese tortellini in a pot of boiling water. The tortellini are ready when they float in the water and are heated through. Move them to a colander to drain, and set aside.
2. Drain and coarsely chop the black olives (you can use pre-chopped olives to save time). Peel the onion, de-seed the pepper, and coarsely chop them as well.
3. Place chopped vegetables and cheese tortellini in a large bowl. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese (feta or mozzarella) and the olive oil and red wine vinegar over the vegetables and tortellini, and then toss it all together. If you are using mozzarella cheese, it will probably melt a bit, which is fine.
4. Give the salad a taste, and add salt and pepper as desired.

Notes & Tips:
You may also want to add more olive oil or vinegar, depending on your preference. You can eat the salad right away, warm, or save it for later and eat it cold. The flavors will meld and (in my opinion) get better with time, so make sure you make enough for leftovers! I doubled the tortellini for a pot luck but didn't double the "dressing" part, it really didn't need it. Also, I chose to use a yellow bell pepper and an orange one instead of the green.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories 230g
Total Fat 18g
Total Carbohydrate 25g
Dietary Fiber 1.2g
Sugars 2g
Protein 11g

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