Summer Tortellini Pasta Salad
You guys, i’ve had the craziest summer. In the best way. I’ve been so busy with plans and being outside enjoying the sun. Cooking has felt like more of a necessity than a hobby lately. And if i’m being honest, most of the time in the summer I slow down in the kitchen but this summer has been extra wild. Life feels like all of my dreams come true and I just feel so lucky to be living it. I’ve been hiking, going to outdoor concerts, boating, having beers with old friends, making a ton of new friends. My life has been chalked full of fun and adventure. If that means the food blog energy decreased ten fold then I guess so be it. BUT, this is a passion of mine and I will always come back to it, so hi guys. We are back.
I have also decided I’m just going to start writing these posts like it’s my diary, because, well, it’s my blog, I can do whatever I want 🙂 When I first started this I swore I wasn’t going to do any of these wordy beginnings and I was just going to post the recipes and be on with my day because NO ONE reads these damn things. Obviously you guys are just here for a killer pasta salad recipe, and I’m going to give it to you. But as it turns out SEO (search engine optimization) i.e. whether google likes your post and is going to push it out to people, really relies on you writing this section, meeting certain word counts and so on and so forth. So, here we are.
I actually can’t believe I haven’t posted this pasta salad recipe before because I make it ALL THE TIME. It is truly one of my favorite things to make in the summer and it is so easy. The recipe is simply cheese tortellini, frozen peas, arugula, shaved parmesan and a quick dressing you whip up make of olive oil, minced garlic, dijon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It comes together as fast as you can boil your pasta and hits every damn time.
If you’re a big tortellini pasta fan like me, here’s a link to my favorite tortellini soup recipe that as fall approaches I cannot wait to make again. Oh my god you guys, I just went to link it and realized I haven’t made a post for that soup yet?! That’s crazy, i’m slacking. I will get on that soon and come back and link it 🙂
Tortellini Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb cheese tortellini
- 1 ½ cup frozen peas
- handful fresh arugula roughly 2 cups
- handful shaved Parmesan cheese roughly 1/2 cup
lemon dijon dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prep your dressing by adding all ingredients (olive oil, dijon, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper) into a mason jar and shaking vigorously
- Cook your tortellini according to package instructions, usually boiling for about 5 minutes or so
- Add your frozen peas to a large bowl, dump cooked tortellini on top, then add the arugula directly on top and mix. I find this works out perfectly because the frozen peas cool down the warm pasta, while the warm pasta thaws the peas and then the bit of warmth let just ever so slightly wilts the arugula so it mixes well.
- Add shaved parmesan and homemade dressing, mix well and enjoy!
Notes
- fresh peas works great as well, but as mentioned this is a quick and easy, lazy gals summer recipe so frozen peas always do it for me
- i find this lasts for a couple days in the fridge after being prepared if stored in a sealed container