Linny's Kitchen: Fresh Basil and Tri Color Tortellini Salad

Friday, May 27, 2011

Fresh Basil and Tri Color Tortellini Salad

This weekend is full of cookout with family and friends and I usually have the task of bringing a pasta salad to the table. This year I wanted to share with you one of my favorites that is full of flavor and colorful too.

To start the fresh basil adds an aroma of summer mingling in with the diced tomatoes and sliver of fresh carrot. The bits of fresh mozzarella adds levity to the dish in contrast of the ricotta filled tortellini. Just a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar brings it all together.

Ingredients:

1lb of Venda Tri Color Tortellini (cooked)
1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
8 leaves of Chopped Basil
1/2 red Onion Chopped
1 Carrot Sliced
1 Maine's Backyard Tomato diced

Directions:

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients and gently toss. Chill before serving for up to 1 hour if using warm pasta.

Can be made 1 day ahead.

To make this dish a meal add extra vegetables like asparagus, zucchini, pepper, and eggplant. You can also dress it up with grilled shrimp, salmon, chicken or steak.

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Linny's Tip - Cooking and Storing Potatoes

Potatoes should be kept in a cool, dark place with good ventilation. The ideal storage temperature is 45 to 50ºF. At these temperatures, potatoes will keep for several
weeks. But don't store potatoes in the refrigerator! When kept below 40ºF, potatoes develop a sweet taste, due to the conversion of starch to sugar. This increased sugar causes potatoes to darken when cooked. If you store potatoes at room temperature, try to use them within a week or so.

Keep potatoes away from prolonged exposure to light, which causes them to turn green. This greening causes a bitter flavor. If potatoes develop green areas or start to sprout, just trim off these areas before using.

Always add potatoes to cold water to boil. This ensures that potatoes will cook evenly throughout.

Linny's Tip: Tomatoes

Did you know tomatoes are second in consumption to potatoes!

However, there is one important thing everyone should know about tomatoes and that is how to store them. Tomatoes do not like the cold at all. In fact when you keep them in the refrigerator they will become mealy and loose their robust flavor.

Instead store them in a cool dark place with their stem side down for ripe tomatoes. For those tomatoes that a not quite ripe leave them on a sunny window sill and soon they will turn bright red and juicy ready to honor any salad or BLT!