Easy Tortelloni Pasta Salad
with Basil Vinaigrette Dressing
Tortelloni pasta salad is a real summer recipe if you want a quick, refreshing meal in the heat. The pasta pockets filled with spinach and ricotta, the crunchy vegetables, and the light olive oil and lemon dressing complement each other perfectly. What’s more, this dish will brighten up your day not only with its taste but also with its colors. It immediately became one of my summer favorites. 🙂 Try it yourself!
The basis: tortelloni, which is not tortellini!
What I like most about Italian pasta is that it is made from durum wheat, which is absorbed more slowly than traditional wheat flour, so it raises blood sugar levels less. Therefore, when consumed in moderation and with lots of vegetables, it can easily be incorporated into a diet. You can use tortellini or tortelloni for this recipe. The two are not the same.
- Tortelloni: larger in size and traditionally made with vegetarian fillings (such as ricotta and spinach)
- Tortellini: smaller in size and usually made with meat fillings
It’s worth trying both, depending on what flavor you’re in the mood for.
For this recipe, I bought tortelloni pasta from Lidl, which was filled with ricotta and spinach. It only takes three minutes to cook in boiling water and is ready to eat. I’ve made a creamy ragout to go with it before, but in the summer heat, I wanted something lighter.
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Diétás nyári receptek
Ha szereted a mediterrán ízeket és egyszerűen elkészíthető recepteket keresel, akkor ez a Receptfüzet Neked való. Feledkezz bele a lédús gyümölcsök, formás zöldségek és illatos fűszernövények világába!
Ingredients
As I mentioned earlier, fresh vegetables are the perfect accompaniment to pasta. While pasta is a more substantial, calorie-rich ingredient, vegetables contain hardly any calories – yet they are very filling.
If you are on a diet, divide the whole thing into 4 servings – as I did, because this way each serving will contain 53 grams of carbohydrates and only 389 calories.
It’s worth adding colorful peppers, cherry tomatoes, and a handful of fresh arugula. And don’t forget the grilled zucchini, because it gives the salad a really distinctive flavor.
The dressing: vinaigrette
Vinaigrette is one of the basic recipes of French cuisine, which has two important ingredients: oil and vinegar. These two ingredients do not mix well, so mustard is usually added to help with emulsification – that is, to make it easier to mix the two ingredients together so that they do not separate afterwards.
What does emulsion mean?
To emulsify = to mix two liquids that normally do not mix (e.g., oil and vinegar) into a stable mixture, often with the help of a third substance (e.g., mustard or egg yolk). Mayonnaise is also an emulsion, where oil is mixed with egg yolk.
Vinaigrette is a diminutive form of the French word vinaigre (vinegar). In the 19th century, it was commonly known as “French dressing.” It is often seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices.
It’s worth learning this recipe because you’ll be able to use it for lots of things later on. It’s mainly used as a salad dressing, but it’s also suitable for marinades.
Basic vinaigrette recipe:
Ratio
- 3 parts olive oil
- Olive oil and neutral vegetable oils such as rapeseed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and grape seed oil can all be used for this recipe.
- 1 part vinegar (e.g., balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar)
- Different vinegars, such as raspberry vinegar, produce different flavors. Lemon juice, tomato juice, or alcohol such as sherry, fortified wine, or sparkling wine can be used instead of vinegar.
Extra seasonings: The basic recipe can be enhanced with herbs (e.g., basil, parsley), onions (red onion, garlic), or even capers.
This tortelloni pasta salad is the perfect choice for a garden party, weekend lunch, or even an everyday dinner when you’re craving something special.
Tortelloni Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 500 g ready-made tortelloni (e.g. filled with ricotta and spinach)
- 100 g light mini mozzarella balls
- 100 g bell peppers (yellow, green, red – mixed)
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 2 handfuls arugula (rocket)
- salt and dried, crumbled basil (for mozzarella and tomatoes)
For the vinaigrette
- 15 15 fresh basil leaves (or half a bunch parsley as substitute)
- 1 teaspoon mustard (≈ 10 g)
- 25 g extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook the tortelloni according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Wash the zucchini and cut off both ends. Cut it in half, then slice it thinly. You should end up with half-slices. Fry them in a little olive oil in a frying pan, sprinkled with salt and crumbled basil. When they are a nice golden brown, add them to the tortelloni you set aside earlier.
- Wash the basil leaves, dry them, and chop them finely. Chop the red onion as well.
- Prepare the vinaigrette dressing in a mixing bowl. Put the mustard and olive oil in the bowl and mix with a whisk, adding the lime juice as you go. Season with salt and pepper. Then stir in the finely chopped red onion and finely chopped basil leaves. The dressing should be runny. If you mix it with a hand blender, you can achieve a thicker consistency, but this is not necessary for this salad. Set the dressing aside. You can even put it in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest, or if you want to add it later.
- Cut the mini mozzarella balls into quarters and, if the cherry tomatoes are too large, cut them into quarters as well. Place both in a bowl, season with salt and crumbled basil. Mix together.
- Cut the California peppers into small cubes. Set aside.
- Now it's time to assemble the salad, which involves mixing everything you've made so far in a large mixing bowl. So add the tortellini, grilled zucchini, diced peppers, and mozzarella balls with the tomatoes. Add two handfuls of arugula. Drizzle with the dressing and mix thoroughly.
- You can eat it right away, but it's also delicious when chilled.
Calories and macros
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