Tortellini Spinach Salad With Sesame Dressing

Submitted by flower7

"I copied this recipe from a vegetarian cookbook many years ago and I just came across it again today. It is such a wonderful salad - I love spinach and cheese tortellini but the dressing is what really makes it stand out."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Dressing

• 1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper, to taste

• Salad

• 1 lb frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 bell pepper, cut in thin strips (yellow, orange or red)
• 1 tomatoes, diced
• 1⁄3 cup slivered red onion
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds (see note)
• 4 cups fresh spinach, washed, dried and torn in small pieces

directions

1. Combine dressing ingredients (oil through black pepper) in a jar, shaking to combine (or whisk together in a small bowl).
2. Cook tortellini according to package directions, being sure not to overcook. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.
3. Stir the bell pepper, tomato and onion with the tortellini. Pour half of the dressing over and toss well.
4. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. (Cover and chill if longer than 1 hour. Bring to room temperature before serving.).
5. Just before serving, stir the spinach into the tortellini mixture. Pour on the remaining dressing and toss well. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and toss again.
6. *Note: To toast sesame seeds, place in a small, dry skillet and toast over medium heat until they begin to pop and smoke slightly, about 3 minutes. Let cool. Be careful not to burn them!

Reviews

[J-Lynn]

We LOVED this meal! The salad has a wonderful Asian flair, and it served the 2 of us for 3 meals! (I just add enough of the pasta mixture to the right amount of spinach each time.)<br/>In the dressing, I cut back the oil to 1/4 cup and increased the soy sauce (I couldn't find tamari) by 1 Tbsp. I thought these changes made the perfect flavor.<br/>I've never used sesame oil before, and none of the bottles at the store specified 'toasted'; it is wonderfully fragrant however, and really makes this dish!

 

[mama smurf]

This was delicious!!!! I did add a little fresh grated ginger to the dressing, cut back on the oil (which didn't hurt this at all) and added about 1 tsp. of brown sugar. Also I tossed in some shrimp which I had marinated in some of the dressing (I cut the recipe in half but left the full amount of the dressing). DH and I gobbled this down and wished I had made more. Thank you for posting and this is going into my Favorites of 2012. Made for National Tomato Month Forum -- Diabeties.

 

[JennyLynn99]

Delicious and easy! I made it the night before and added the spinach in an hour before lunch and it turned out wonderful! I've made it twice already! I do cut the oil down a little, per other reviews, but other than that I make it as written. A real summer go-to. Thanks!

 

[KellyMac6]

A little oily, but liked how healthy this dish was and the sesame is a new flavor that I don't usually cook with. My BF really enjoyed it and he never likes anything healthy so that makes it a winner for me! I also used green peppers because that is what I had on hand and it tasted just fine, probably just didn't give it the additional color.

 

[nemokitty]

I needed to use up some baby spinach so went looking for a recipe and lo and behold, I found a WINNER! This was so good and made alot -- we ate it for lunch for 2 days. I added 2 tsp sugar per other reviewer's suggestions and I only had a regular onion, but it still worked. Thanks for the recipe that I'll be making again.