Primavera Salad with Warm Dressing
Submitted by angelakp
Primavera tortellini salad blanches snow peas, asparagus, and carrots, then tosses them with feta and a warm lemon-garlic-olive oil dressing. A vegetarian pasta salad that eats like a main.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minPasta salad usually means a sad bowl of cold tortellini swimming in bottled Italian dressing. Not this one. This recipe heats the dressing in a small skillet so the olive oil, garlic, and lemon bloom into a fragrant, just-warm vinaigrette that wakes every vegetable up the moment it hits the bowl.
Blanching is the underrated step. A quick dip in boiling water followed by an ice bath stops the cooking dead, locking in the snap of snow peas and the bright green of asparagus. Skip the ice bath and the residual heat keeps cooking the vegetables into limp territory.
Feta cubes, cucumber, and scallion add salty contrast and crunch, and the warm dressing slightly softens the feta edges into a creamy coating without melting it down completely.
Chef Tips
- Cook tortellini just to tender. Overcooked stuffed pasta splits and dumps its filling into the salad.
- Blanch each vegetable separately and time-stagger them, asparagus and snow peas need different cook times. Crowding the pot evens nothing out.
- Pour the warm dressing over the salad immediately, the residual heat does the final aromatic lift.
- Use freshly grated black pepper and good olive oil. With this few ingredients, every one shows.
- Make ahead is fine but add the dressing within 30 minutes of serving so the vegetables stay vibrant.
Variations
- Swap feta for fresh mozzarella pearls for a milder, creamier version.
- Add halved cherry tomatoes and pitted Kalamata olives for a Greek-leaning salad.
- Use cheese-filled ravioli or gnocchi in place of tortellini.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook tortellini in large pot of rapidly boiling salted water for about 25 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain.
In large pot of boiling water, blanch snow peas for 1 minute. Chill in ice bath until cold. Blanch carrots, then asparagus, until tender crisp. Chill in ice bath until cold.
In a large bowl, combine pasta, all vegetables and cheese.
In a small skillet over medium heat, combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, basil, pepper, hot sauce and salt. Heat until warm. Pour over pasta mixture; sprinkle with parsley and toss until well blended.
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