Thursday, February 4, 2010

Herbed Chicken Tortellini Salad



This is the recipe for the tortellini salad that I brought on Monday. Pretty easy! I doubled it, bought the tortellini at Safeway, it came in a 20 oz package, but they have it in the smaller size as well. The only changes that I made were I made it the night before and didn’t want the spinach to get soggy so I poured half of the dressing over the tortellini, veggies and diced cheese and let them marinate overnight and tossed the spinach and parmesan in just before serving with some of the remaining dressing. One cup seems like a lot of dressing for the regular size salad. I don’t think I used that much for the doubled recipe. Whatever I’m sure you can tell. The dressing I used was a Caesar from AJ’s, Silver Palate “Julees”, and another Caesar from Trader Joe’s in the refrigerated section mixed together. Either would be OK but the one from Trader Joe’s has a little more body and I liked them together. Also because I was already at AJ’s I bought the good grated parmesan reggiano instead of the cheaper one I use from Safeway. It is really good and I think it affects the flavor.

Bon Appetit!
Bonnie

Fresh spinach and tortellini combine for a salad to remember. Serve with breadsticks and glasses of ice cold tea with a splash of lemonade

Herb Chicken Tortellini Salad
1 (9-ounce) package BUITONI® Herb Chicken Tortellini, prepared according to pkg. directions, chilled
1 (10-ounce) package ready-to-use spinach, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced mozzarella cheese, (4 ounces)
1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1 cup sliced ripe olives, drained
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 cup Caesar salad dressing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Combine pasta, spinach, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, olives and roasted peppers in medium bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Makes 6 servings.