I love pasta salads. All kinds. But especially love salads made with fresh tortellini. This salad has a delicious dressing loaded with shallots and basil. Paired with ripe cherry tomatoes, Arugula lettuce and pine nuts.
I saw this great recipe on Julia at Home video from America’s Test Kitchen. I am a tried and true Cooks Illustrated fan and have been for years.
Normally I let tortellini cool and dry before I add the vegetables and dressing. I think the dressing sticks to the pasta much better that way.
This recipe says to add the dressing to the hot, drained pasta and put in the refrigerator to cool. It does say to chill only 15 minutes, but I found it was no where near chilled enough at that point. Since you add Arugula lettuce to the salad, I was afraid that it would wilt. So, I left in the refrigerator until the pasta was fully chilled. 
I also used White Balsamic vinegar for the acid instead of the lemon juice and added a little quick dissolving granulated sugar to the dressing (just my preference).
I don’t know if you are a basil lover as I am, but the addition of 1/2 cup fresh basil along with those cherry tomatoes is delicious. I was also thinking you could add the Mozzarella Pearls to this salad.
This was super delicious. Just make sure you don’t add the lettuce until you want to serve. It gets wilted if you serve the next day with the lettuce in it.
I did not use the pine nuts. Firstly, I didn’t have any. Secondly I don’t care for them. So they are optional if you use them or not. The salad is delicious without them in my opinion.
Make sure to grate the garlic on a grater like Julia does. This releases even more garlic flavor than using a press, so don’t be tempted to use more. A little does a long way.
Shredding the Parmesan cheese on the large holes of a box grated gives you larger chunks of cheese. If you want it finer, grate finer.
Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, I use loads of freshly grated black pepper!
HOW QUICK CAN THIS TORTELLINI SALAD BE PULLED TOGETHER?
If you look at the recipe, you will see how fast.
You basically prepare all ingredients (except the lettuce, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts) and put it all in a medium sized bowl.
When the tortellini is cooked, drain and add to the ingredients in the bowl. Mix together and refrigerate.Â
When it is cooled, add lettuce, cheese and pine nuts.
Tortellini Salad with Arugula, Basil and Cherry Tomatoes
Description
Perfect Summer salad. Tortellini, cherry tomatoes, basil in a tangy dressing.
Ingredients
9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3–4 tablespoons lemon juice or White Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 (9-ounce) packages fresh cheese tortellini
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 ounces (1 1/2 cups) baby arugula
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Instructions
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot.
Meanwhile, whisk oil, lemon juice, basil, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper together in large bowl.
Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain pasta, shaking off excess water.
Add pasta and tomatoes to bowl with dressing and toss. Cover and refrigerate until cooled, about 15 minutes.
Stir in arugula, Parmesan, and pine nuts and season with salt and pepper to taste just before serving.
Notes
You could add Mozzarella Pearls to this salad.
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