Tortelloni Caprese Pasta Salad

It's (almost) spring time here (I say almost as it is drizzling cold, icky rain outside this lovely day in May).  Spring is one of my fav times because that means that easy access to fresh, delicious fruits and veggies is starting to abound!  There is little I love more than going to the produce market and getting 90% of my dinner ingredients there.  I am always looking for ways to make "light" spring/summer meals that require little real cooking as well.  I love warm summer days when I don't have to cook a lot, but get to sit down to a light, fresh meal.  Well, I'm pretty sure the temperature here broke 60 degrees on Wednesdays (I know, right?) and that inspired me to make up something light, fresh and tasty.  And pretty healthy too!  I think this would also work well to make and eat for easy lunches (I'm all about leftovers, no more of this peanut butter sandwich business).  I used tortelloni (like tortellini only bigger) for this recipe because I didn't want little tortellini to get overwhelmed by other ingredients involved, but tortelloni can be harder to find sometimes, so I'm sure if needed tortellini would work just as well too.  Hope you enjoy as much as myself and my friend Rachel did! 

Tortelloni Caprese Pasta Salad
makes 4 servings
18 oz. fresh cheese tortelloni
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 oz fresh basil
3-4 heirloom tomatoes (depending on size), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp. course sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 oz. mozzarella, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
pinch red pepper flakes

Start by blanching the basil.  This will help by maintaining pretty color and preserving flavor.  Do so by bringin a medium sauce pan full of water to boil.  While bringing to boil, prepare an ice bath.  One the water is boiling.  Add the basil and cook for 15 seconds.  Remove (it's helpful if you have a smaller metal strainer to do this) and plunge into the ice bath.  Let stand there for about 30-60 seconds.  Remove.  Dry as best as possible.  Chop.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Once boiling, add in tortelloni.  I find it's best to cook about 1-2 minutes under what the package directions say (they seem to overcook the pasta sometimes).  Once cooked, drain and let cool about 5 minutes - tossing occassionally so that the pasta does not stick together.

While pasta is cooking, make the dressing.  In large bowl, whisk olive oil, shallot, garlic, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper together.  Toss in tomatoes.  Once pasta is ready and cooled slightly, pour it into the tomato/dressing mixture and toss until well combined.  Add in the mozzarella (this waits so that the cheese does not melt).  Enjoy!

Look at the pretty colors!!!!