Tortellini Salad with Asparagus and Lemony Dressing

Categories: salad- with pasta

Ingredients

• 1 lb. thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 16 to 19 oz. frozen cheese tortellini
• 5 Tbsp. lemon juice, divided use
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup boiling hot water
• 12 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil, mint or parsley
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Fill a bowl half full with ice and water.
3. Add asparagus and 1 Tbsp. salt to the boiling water and cook until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. (Do not discard water). Using a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to ice water and pat dry with paper towels. Transfer asparagus to a storage container; cover.
4. Return pot of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook, stirring often, until tortellini is tender. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain tortellini, rinse with cold water and drain again, leaving tortellini slightly wet.
5. meanwhile, whisk 4 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic, shallot, 1 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. black pepper together in a large bowl. Whisking constantly, drizzle in oil. Transfer 1/4 cup dressing to a small bowl and stir in the remaining lemon juice; cover.
6. Add tortellini to the remaining dressing and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta cooking water as needed to adjust consistency; cover.
7. Refrigerate asparagus, tortellini mixture and dressing separately for up to 2 days.
8. To serve, remove asparagus, tortellini mixture and dressing from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. if necessary, stir boiling water into tortellini to loosen. Whisk dressing to recombine, then drizzle over tortellini. Stir in asparagus, tomatoes, parmesan, herbs and one nuts. Season with salt and pepper.

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