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Tortellini Pesto Salad

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Tortellini pesto salad for the win.  First of all…homemade pesto.  That is all.  I could almost just end this post right here because it’s just that good, but I will take a few minutes to elaborate and enlighten you as to how this can be in your life.  You deserve to know this so here goes.  First of all, if you are intimidated by making your own pesto, it’s time to let go of your fear and give it a try.  It’s actually so easy, you will wonder why you waited so long to do it yourself.  You can always buy pesto but you really cannot replace the homemade stuff.  So you just need to start with a big bunch of fresh basil, some pine nuts, fresh garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil.  Put all of the ingredients (minus a half of the olive oil) into a food processor and blend it up.  Slowly drizzle in the remaining half of the olive oil and scrape down the sides of the bowl if you need to.  Season with a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and you have yourself a big ‘ol bowl of deliciousness.  Can you even believe how easy that was?  Yay.  Great job!

Once you have that pesto made up, the world is your oyster!  You can now put that stuff on whatever you want!  That is exactly what we did with this tortellini dish here.  To prepare this recipe, you simply cook the tortellini according to the package directions.  Drain it, then transfer to a large bowl.  Add the pesto and red wine vinegar and toss.

then add the cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach and stir until combined.  Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper and voila!  You have the most delicious meal that can be enjoyed hot or cold.  You can eat some now and save some for lunch tomorrow.  It’s delicious the next day too!  This is a very popular dish in our home.  We hope you enjoy!

 

Tortellini Pesto Salad
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1.5 lbs fresh cheese tortellini
  • ½ C prepared pesto - see recope below or used storebought - Costco has a great Kirkland brand pesto
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 C cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 C fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
  • kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
For the Basil Pesto:
  • 2 C packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C toasted pine nuts
  • 1 cloved garlic, chopped
  • ½ C grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. Boil fresh tortellini according to package instructions - usually 2-3 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water (can also serve hot, if serving hot do not rinse with cold water).
  2. Transfer tortellini to a large serving bowl. Add pesto and red wine vinegar and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and spinach and stir until incorporated. Season with S&P to taste. Serve immediately or store covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
For Basil Pesto:
  1. In a food processor combine basil, cheese, garlic, pine nuts and ¼ C olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the remaining ¼ C olive oil while the food processor is running. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week.