Recipe of the Week: Greek Tortellini Salad

Hello!  It is so exciting to post the first recipe on my blog!  Every Sunday night my housemates and I enjoy sitting at the dinner table to catch up and gossip about the events of the weekend.  It has never been established as “family dinner” night, but it always seems to happen that way as we try to salvage the last few hours of our weekend.  This year, I have volunteered to make our homework procrastination session a legitimate weekly event by cooking dinner every Sunday night.  For all you readers, this means there will be a recipe of the week waiting for YOU every Monday!

This week, we were all in the mood for pasta.  Instead of pouring penne in a pot of boiling water and pouring canned tomato sauce, I decided to get a little more creative.  I remembered an interesting recipe for Greek tortellini salad that I thought looked delicious while flipping through a cookbook in Barnes and Noble.  I couldn’t quite remember the exact details, besides the obvious kalamata olives and feta cheese that are Greek staples, so I went to work researching on Google.  After reviewing a few recipes, I found one from tasteofhome.com that seemed simple, light, and easy enough to whip up by myself.

I made one small alteration to the recipe to include an ingredient that I love and thought would work well with the salad.  Chickpeas are one of my favorite foods (weird, I know), so I threw them in the mix.

Greek Tortellini Salad:

Adapted recipe and photos by Culinary Chronicles of a College Kid.blogspot.com

Original recipe by Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2005

Serves about 10

• 16 to 18 ounces refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 3/4 cup sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh mint or 1 tablespoon dried mint flakes
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the tortellini according to package instructions, then drain and rinse in cold water.  Combine the tortellini, red pepper, green pepper, onion, olives, and chickpeas in a large bowl.

Next, combine the oil, vinegar, mint, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, pepper and pepper flakes in a container with a tight-fitted lid.  I used a plastic Tupperware container because that is all I had in my tiny college kitchen and it worked just fine.  Shake well and pour over salad.  Toss salad and cover with plastic wrap before placing in the refrigerator.  The original recipe suggested letting the salad sit for four hours, but we were starving and had very little patience.  We lasted a half hour before digging in and it tasted great anyway!  Don’t forget to add the feta before serving, it really complemented the dressing well and topped off the salad perfectly.

Dressing - tastes a lot better than it looks

The only thing I would do differently next time is perhaps serving this as a side dish.  I could see it going great at a barbecue next to grilled chicken or a hamburger.  The flavors were delicious but a little strong, and may be more enjoyable in smaller portions.

My pretty housemates. They clearly love it :)

Kim's feedback: "Good.  Could use some like...celery."  Everyone, keep that in mind if your looking to spice it up a little...
Jorge's feedback: "Good, but have a piece of gum with you because it will make your breath smell funky."

Total time: 1 hour (including the half hour it set in the fridge)