Happy Hump Day, friends! Today it felt like summer, with temps in the high 80s, and I was craving all.the.summer.veggies. I stopped by TJ’s on my way home from work and couldn’t resist picking up three different packages of tomatoes (grape, heirloom, and on the vine) with some fresh basil, ready-to-cook spinach tortellini and a prepared olive tapenade for this incredibly easy tortellini salad.
You could have made the tapenade on your own, or grown your own basil plant, or heck- made your own pasta… but no one got time for that! It was so simple to dice a few tomatoes and basil, throw the cooked tortellini and tapenade in, and squirt a little balsamic and lemon juice on top! Summer was practically licking my ankles (oh wait, that was Samoa).
Enjoy! Happy summer-dreaming!
- 1 package (about 16 oz) cheese or spinach tortellini pasta
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 containers grape or on-the-vine tomatoes (I used both), diced roughly
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 container olive tapenade (I used TJ’s) or 1/2 cup diced olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- spinach for serving (optional)
- Prepare tortellini 2 mins less than package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve a bit of the pasta water.
- In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients except for feta. When cooled, stir in tortellini and reserved pasta water.
- Stir in feta and serve with spinach for a light summer salad!
Claire Tastes 
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