Mediterranean Tortellini Salad

Yeah, I know...ANOTHER pasta salad. It saves me from having to think about what to make for lunch all week, what can I say? I made a lot of changes to the original recipe with this one - to me, that's the fun of pasta salads - you add what you have on hand and change things according to your tastes.

In the recipe below, I doubled the dressing amounts that I used for you, because I found it very dry. But I am also known to pile on the dressing, so halve it again to get back to the original amounts if you wish. Oh and just a word about the green beans - if you are making this to save for a few days, just be aware that the beans will lose their bright green color after a day or two - but they are still good!

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

inspiration from Southern Living

Makes 8-10 side dish servings

2 (13 ounce) packages frozen cheese tortellini

1/2 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

1/4 cup light mayo
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
1/2 cup good quality olive oil

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

2 tablespoons sweet onion, minced

feta cheese (I didn't use this, but think it would be really good)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package direction, 8-10 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the green beans to the water. Drain and rinse pasta and beans with cold water.

Whisk together mayo, red wine vinegar, and herbes de Provence in small bowl. Continue whisking and add olive oil until emulsified.

Transfer pasta and beans to a large bowl. Add red peppers, olives, minced onion, feta cheese if using, and dressing. Toss gently until dressing is evenly distributed.

Chill for 4-24 hours. Mix in fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.