Artichoke Pasta Salad is a light yet fulfilling tortellini pasta salad. With marinated mushrooms, artichokes and chopped olives it is a dump and go meal for a hot day when you don’t want to heat up the house. Light and a bit funky with the crumbled feta, it is a great change from the extra savory pasta salads that come up in the summer.
Summers in Tucson are brutal, there’s no other way to say it and no one out here wants to cook on the regular. With end of the school year picnic and luncheons growing up the room parents struggled to provide the teachers with the food they deserved. But, this pasta salad from Ms. Ima Kemp (back in 2006) came in clutch whenever they needed a easy and delicious side to feed teachers.
Hate to break it to you, but you will have to turn on the stove for just a couple minutes to boil water and cook your pasta. I find it easiest to cook the tortellini in the morning before it hits 100 degrees by 9 am in Tucson. Now, I don’t have the humidity that others do, but I have to assume that it makes it just as bad to cook.
Letting the salad sit once it’s mixed is imperative in my opinion. It doesn’t have to be for long, but the longer it sits, the better it gets. When serving this dish, I find that this pasta salad is not as good when you add meat to it. Additionally, you may have to add more dressing as the cheese and pasta soaks up the dressing.
Whether you’re taking this to your next summer potluck or eating it as an easy dinner, don’t forget to savor the time around the table. Stay cool this summer and enjoy a cool meal around the picnic table.
Artichoke Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb tortellini, cooked & rinsed according to package
- 3 small jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained but not rinsed
- 1 jar marinated mushrooms, drained but not rinsed
- 1 pkg crumbled Feta 6-8 oz
- 1/2 – 1 c Italian dressing
- 1 can diced black olives 4 oz
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the package and rinse.
- Roughly chop artichokes. Combine ingredients, refrigerate for an hour and serve.
