Spring in a Bowl

According to plan, I made Tortellini and Spring Vegetable Salad tonight, and totally loved it. It couldn't be any easier. Unlike other salads, this recipe didn't even require a large amount of chopping - only asparagus, chives, and some red onion that I substituted for radishes. I hate radishes! The asparagus and peas blanch in the water along with tortellini, and using the fresh pasta ups the speediness as well. Heck, you don't even have to pre-mix the dressing - just toss the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper straight into the salad. I also used chopped walnuts instead of pine nuts, and regular goat cheese crumbles instead of the herb and garlic.

It really is spring in a bowl!

Once it is all mixed up, the goat cheese starts to coat all of the salad and melds with the tart red wine vinegar. The group of vegetables really do taste springy. Asparagus, peas, spinach, plus the pesto filling of the pasta makes the salad taste incredibly fresh. It really doesn't feel like you are eating pasta salad, it is salad with pasta. Plus, the recipe is HUGE. I had a small dish for dinner tonight, then packed up 3 separate plastic container's worth of salad. I can't wait to try it tomorrow for lunch when the salad has marinaded longer in its dressing.