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Tortellini Pasta Salad with Roasted Broccoli
Saturday, May 30, 2015 15:49
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I love learning new kitchen tricks to keep up my sleeve and recently I’ve found a few gems that are definitely improving my summer cooking game. First I discovered how to make delicious black bean burgers and then a few days later I read an article from Epicurious about how to amp up a pasta salad with one simple trick by – ready for it? – rubbing a clove of garlic on the inside of the serving bowl before mixing up the pasta salad. Genius.
I love garlic, but I don’t love biting into a raw chunk of it in a pasta salad. So instead of finely chopping it or pressing it (ugh, no thank you – it wastes so much of the garlic and I hate cleaning the garlic press) I’m now going to forever rub it all over the bowl. Doing this infuses the pasta salad with a subtle garlic flavor, which unlocks after the hot pasta is tossed together with olive oil in the bowl. It’s such a simple and effective technique.
In the time it takes to roast the broccoli you can easily boil the pasta and prep the rest of the ingredients. Then toss it all together with just some fresh lemon juice and olive oil. It’s delicious served at room temperature or slightly chilled, although I started digging in while it was still warm because I couldn’t help myself. This tortellini pasta salad with roasted broccoli is perfect for summer – serve it with grilled chicken, steak, or all on it’s own as a meatless main course with some bread on the side.
Tortellini Pasta Salad with Roasted Broccoli
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This pasta salad has roasted broccoli, fresh cherry tomatoes, tortellini, and bacon all tossed together in a light lemon and olive oil dressing.
Author: Girl Gone Gourmet
Recipe type: Main Course
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 3 heads of broccoli florets, cut into equal sizes
- 9 ounce package of fresh tortellini
- ¼ cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons divided
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- Juice from one lemon
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Toss the broccoli florets in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spread them evenly on a sheet pan and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the start to caramelize.
- While the broccoli is roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain the tortellini well once it’s cooked.
- Cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove from the pan and let it drain on paper towels. Once it’s cooled finely chop it.
- Take the garlic clove and either slice it in half or smash it with the knife. Rub the garlic all over the inside of the serving bowl. This will work on any type of bowl – wood, plastic, or glass.
- Once the pasta is cooked and the broccoli is roasted add them both to the serving bowl. Add the tomatoes, bacon, olive oil, and lemon juice and give it all a good toss until it’s well mixed. Season with a few pinches of salt and ¼ teaspoon or so of black pepper.
- Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Notes
I think this salad is best the day it’s made and served at room temperature. You can stick it in the fridge for a little bit to slightly chill it, but if it gets too cold the dressing will dry out and the tomatoes will have a different (not so great) texture. If you want to make it ahead I would let it sit out a bit before serving so it’s not super cold and then toss it in a little extra oil and lemon juice.
The post Tortellini Pasta Salad with Roasted Broccoli appeared first on Girl Gone Gourmet.
Source: http://www.girlgonegourmet.com/2015/05/tortellini-pasta-salad-with-roasted-broccoli.html
