Tortellini salad
I know that I’m a Nutritionist, and I am here to promote healthy eating, fibrous foods and all-around good health, but I have to tell you, I often just can’t get behind a salad.
Salads can be so incredibly boring! The constant chewing, the lack of a change in texture, and the disappointment of it not being a sandwich are all things that haunt me while making and eating a salad.
Then I realized my whole life’s purpose is to make food delicious, enjoyable, and accessible. So, why the heck was I suffering through salads that felt like nightmare fuel?!
So, I got to work at making salads something that wasn’t depressing to eat and the first thing to pop into my head was pasta! Cuz, who doesn’t love a pasta salad?
I started with pasta because many people believe pasta to be “bad” or “unhealthy” when in reality it is just a carbohydrate like the rest of them. In order to help offset some the negative associations with pasta, I went to work figuring out how to really amp it up with vegetables and legumes to make it something that not only tasted good but felt good to eat.
Ingredients
Tortellini Salad:
2 x 350g premade tortellini (choose your fav, I went with cheese)
1 can (540ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, finely diced
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 cup feta, diced or crumbled
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
directions
Cook pasta in large pot of salted water according to package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water and set aside to cool.
Place all salad ingredients, pepper, celery, cucumber, chickpeas, feta and onion into a large bowl and give them a stir. Make sure the bowl is big enough to add in the tortellini once it’s cooled.
While pasta is cooling make the dressing. Add all ingredients into a sealable container and give it a good shake until it starts to look a little cloudy.
Place the cooled pasta into the bowl of veggies and feta, dress with all of the salad dressing and toss to coat.
Serve immediately. It will keep in your fridge for up to 4 days before the cucumbers start to get a bit weird on you.
