Tortellini Summer Salad

August 9, 2017 by quirkyjazz Leave a comment

Tonight was one of those nights.  I looked into the refrigerator and tried to figure out what I could cook for dinner that was not too complicated, not too hot, not too much effort.

I spied a package of fresh tortellini.  I thought, “Hey, I could boil that and throw in some vegetables and some meat and cheese.  It would be a main course salad!”

Uncooked Tortellini. Image via Flickr by Scott Feldstein CC license

I put some water on to boil.  I started to gather ingredients.

1 small white onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
4 carrots, grated
1 box cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
several slices of deli ham, diced (1/4 to 1/3 of a pound)
1/2 jar Muffuletta olive salad (use a fork to dig it out of the jar)
Most of a bottle of creamy Caesar dressing (or could use vinegar and olive oil)

Boil a package of cheese tortellini according to the package directions.  Undercook just slightly.  Rinse with cold water.  While pasta cooks, combine the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the pasta.  Toss and mix.

Diced celery, carrots and onion

Marinated Artichoke Hearts: Look for something like this

Muffuletta Olive Salad: Look for something like this near the pickles.