Every year we kick off the Summer with my Sister’s Birthday and my Pesto Tortelli Salad! It’s a pasta salad that we have throughout the summer months for B-day’s, Fourth of July, and…well just about any other summer event!

TORTELLI  PESTO SALAD

Ingredients

2 packages (14oz.) of Buitoni cheese tortellini pasta www.buitoni.com/

1 jar of Trader Joe’s roasted bell peppers, reserve about a ¼ cup of liquid from the roasted red pepper jar.

1 can of artichokes (Trader Joe’s)

1 jar Kalamata olives

1 package of small marinated mozzarella balls

About 2 cups of finely grated Parmesan cheese

About 2 cups toasted pinenuts: you will need a ½ cup for the Pesto and 1½ cups for top of salad.

Jalapeno/Basil Pesto:

½ c. toasted pinenuts

1 garlic clove

1 jalapeno (or half)

1 bunch of basil just leaves

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Olive oil

Directions

In a food processor grind pinenuts, garlic together should look like a paste. Then add jalapeno, basil, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Then slowly stream in olive oil until a moist paste stays together.

Salad:

Boil pasta (go by the package instructions) I usually take out a minute sooner than package requests and they should be done.

Let pasta cool. Do not cool with water, you’ll rinse all the starch off! Toss with a little olive oil or liquid from peppers to prevent pasta from sticking together.

Add all the ingredients (don’t forget the ¼ cup of juice from the peppers); toss to coat all tortellini’s then add 1½ cups of toasted pinenuts on top!

Peter’s Wine Pick: Alfaro’s Pinot Noir Rose

~Happy Cooking!