Update: The giveaway is closed. Thanks to all who entered!
Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day is one of these books. It’s just so lovely, and Heidi has a gift for thinking up original, creative vegetarian recipes that go beyond sauteed kale and tofu stir-fry. Even when I don’t follow her recipes exactly, I find so much inspiration just looking through this book. I probably do so at least once a week.
This tortellini salad is one example of how inspiring this book is. I love that all of her recipes encourage variation and substitution, based on what’s available for you. What she really encourages is playfulness in the kitchen, and a willingness to experiment. Heidi’s recipes often remind me that the best times in the kitchen are when you’re trying something new and untested, because frankly, even when things don’t turn out the way you expect, they almost never turn out inedible, and you usually learn something new. Food is fun and nourishing and satisfying even when it’s imperfect.
This tortellini salad? Not imperfect. In fact, it was pretty darn close to entirely perfect. I was drawn in by the avocado in Heidi’s recipe, and ended up using vegetables that I had in my refrigerator, rather than those suggested in the recipe. And it was so good Sean and I ate all of it for dinner, and even though we felt perhaps a little overstuffed, we still felt good and happy, because it’s that kind of dinner. This is almost guaranteed to become a repeat dinner in our little kitchen, because it’s like a perfect mix of creamy, pasta comfort food and crispy, healthy vegetable goodness.
One thing this recipe taught me is that nuts truly are better when they’re a little bit toasted. I almost always skip this step in recipes that call for it, because toasting nuts is just so darn finicky. They burn so easily, and one has to be so very, very careful with them. But I decided to go for it when making this salad, and it just made such a huge difference. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be taking the extra time and care to toast nuts for all kinds of recipes in the future. Another small thing that I think made a difference with this salad is taking the time to cut the green beans and the arugula into bite-sized pieces. I often think salads can become annoying when you’re trying to shove giant pieces of lettuce or long stringy beans into your mouth. I tried to cut everything into one inch pieces, so that things were relatively uniform in size and you’d be more likely to get a lot of flavors in a single bite, rather than trying to fish out giant green beans.
Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day
- 1 16-ounce package of wild mushroom tortellini (you can use any kind you want; we thought the mushroom was outstanding
- about 1 1/2 cups green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 clove of garlic
- juice from one small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- a pinch of salt
- about 1/4 cup good-flavored olive oil
- about 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 2 big handfuls of arugula, washed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- small handful of alfalfa sprouts
- 1 medium avocado
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to the package directions. In the last 30 seconds of cooking, add the chopped green beans. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the salad dressing by mincing the garlic finely and adding it to a small bowl with the lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt, then slowly whisk in the olive oil. I sometimes find it easier to throw all the dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake to emulsify, but I’ve been practicing my whisking technique, and it’s not nearly as hard as I thought. This doesn’t have to be a perfect salad dressing, so I say go ahead and practice your whisking technique.
Next, you want to toast the almonds. This works really well in a toaster oven, because you can keep a close eye on them, but you can also use a skillet, or your regular oven. In a toaster oven, I just put the nuts on a small tray and toasted the nuts on a light to medium setting. I took them out after about two minutes, as soon as they began to brown. In a skillet, you want to toast them over medium heat in a dry skillet until they are fragrant and just golden brown. In an oven, you want to toast them at a lower temperature, about 300 degrees for two or three minutes. Set them aside to cool a bit.
Once the tortellini and green beans have cooled enough to not be steaming, toss them with the arugula, dressing, and toasted almonds. Add the sprouts, then cut the avocado into small pieces and add that in as well. Add salt to taste, and serve.
I know many of you probably already have Super Natural Every Day, because many of you probably also read her excellent blog, 101 Cookbooks, and were just as compelled to buy the book as I was. But if you don’t have your very own copy to love and cherish, I’m giving one away. Yup, I’ve caught the giveaway bug, and I want one of you to be able to enjoy this book as much as I do.
If you’d like to enter to win this book, just leave a comment here telling me about your very favorite pasta salad recipe. Or telling me about anything else you might want to tell me. I’ll pick a winner on Saturday, October 1 at 9 am.
Good luck, and in the meantime, I encourage you to give this amazing pasta salad a try, even if you’re not generally a pasta salad fan. I think it might change your mind.
I love the sesame peanut noodle recipe from the Gourmet cookbook. It’s terrific hot, it’s terrific cold, it welcomes additional vegetables, and if you make it with short pasta instead of long, it’s basically pasta salad. I have a cold rice noodle salad recipe that’s very salady and delicious–rice vermicelli, grated carrot, cucumber, peanuts, and a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and probably some other good things I’m forgetting. And for a really classic pasta salad recipe with mayonnaise that still manages to be amazing (I hate mayonnaise, so this is high praise), I’ve got a recipe that calls for fusilli, cubed chicken breast (best poached), dried cherries or cranberries, toasted almonds, celery, onion, poppy seeds, and a very light mayonnaise-based dressing.
Your tortellini salad looks delicious; you might be ready for fall vegetables, but believe me, I’d love to have one of your California avocados right now instead of the many squash our CSA is giving us!
I like a simple orzo salad. Mix a vinaigrette to your liking, cook some orzo. Cut zucchini and green beans into small pieces, steam. Combine everything. Then chop up some tomatoes, and add pearls of fresh mozzarella. Add salt, pepper, fresh basil, rosemary, and oregano to taste. I’ve never measured anything (shocking, really), so I cannot get any more specific than that at the moment. It really is a lovely dish though.
Some if my favorite ingrediants! Lovely!
You had me at avocado! The Italian made tortellini at Trader Joe’s are my new favorite pasta, I’ll have to try your recipe soon.
I adore a good pesto pasta salad, and my favorite summer pasta dish is essentially a warm salad: cook pasta, toss with tomatoes, herbs, maybe some wilted arugula or spinach, and fresh goat cheese. It takes 10 minutes and is so good. 🙂