Tuscan Tortellini Salad

Summer Salad……… Tuscan Tortellini Salad.

Tuscan Tortellini Salad

Summer salads are the best……cool, fresh veggies, in yummy, light dressings….makes my mouth water at the thought.

Pasta salads are some of my favs. I really like tortellini for summer pasta salads. Filled with cheese, or meats they are little packets bursting with flavor.

Tuscan Tortellini Salad

I like to use Barilla’s Cheese & Spinach tortellini, egg pasta folded around creamy Ricotta cheese and tender spinach, and pinched into a distinctive ring shape. And they are cute!!!

Tortellini……Italian………Tuscan……..I feel a flavor profile coming together.

Tuscan Tortellini Salad

Sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, cherry tomatoes, bocconcini, and sopressata.
Sopressata is similar to hard salami, and it can also be spicy!
Tim and I had sopressata on a pizza in Las Vegas at Wolf Gang Pucks restaurant. It was spicy and delicious.

Tuscan Tortellini Salad

I think the bocconcini mozzarella balls are the cutest little things. Bocconcini means little bites in Italian…….too cute!

A simple vinaigrette of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar…….I have been using this lately as it doesn’t discolor dishes like regular balsamic does…….a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper.

Tuscan Tortellini Salad
This salad is easy to make and can be kept for several days…….in my opinion, it was even better the next day. The flavors melded together soon nicely.

Pair the Tuscan Tortellini Salad with grilled meat, or add a nice loaf of your favorite Italian bread, and a glass of your favorite beverage and you have a summer salad thats sure to please……..

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Tuscan Tortellini Salad

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  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 113 ounce package Barilla cheese & spinach tortellini 1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 ounces sopressata or other Italian style meat, chopped
  • 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 8 ounce package of fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 c. Parmesan, shredded

Instructions

  1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and transfer to large serving bowl.
  2. For the dressing: Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
  3. To the tortellini in the bowl, add sopressata, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, and dressing tossing until well combined.
  4. Garnish with Parmesan.

 

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup

Sunday was soup day…..White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup!

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup

Tim and I are of the Mexican or Italian taste palette. This time it’s Italian……Molto bene (very good)……ok, I don’t know Italian, so I looked it up!

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup 3

Funny how something with simple ingredients can come together and be awesome. Precooked sausage…….Oscar Meyer has an Italian Herb flavor that I really think made this soup. Any precooked sausage or Polska Kielbasa will do.

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup 6

Onions are a base for almost all soups, but for this dish I added some fennel …….lesson time…….
Fennel plants have leaves that remind me of dill and you can eat the “fronds”…..thats what the dill looking part is called. Not only can you eat the leaves, but the seeds and bulbs as well.  Fennel looks kind of like a cross between an onion and the base of a bunch of celery and has a sweet anise-like flavor. But it doesn’t taste like licorice… it is a light, bright spring-like flavor.  Plus, fennel is good for you, it contains Vitamins A and C, as well as potassium and calcium.

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup 1

Garlic, which no respectable Italian dish is without….just saying, a pinch of red pepper, gotta have a touch of heat….some chicken stock……please use stock, you will get a much better flavor.

I added a can of white kidney beans….a.k.a. Cannellini beans and spinach for greens.

OMG….I almost forgot the tortellini……hard to make White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup without it. Silly me….

The whole thing takes all of 30 minutes……who doesn’t have 30 minutes??????

30 minutes to an incredible, warm , hearty soup…….White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup. Serve it with asiago or parmesan cheese and some crusty bread….delicious!!!!!!!!!

White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup Collage

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White Bean Sausage Tortellini Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 13 ounces package Italian Herb cooked sausage, sliced thin
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 cup fresh fennel bulb, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
  • 232 ounce cartons chicken stock
  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1 9-ounce package cheese tortellini
  • 1 cup grated Asiago cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add next 7 ingredients. Sauté until vegetables are soft and kielbasa is brown, about 12 minutes. Add stock and bring to boil. Stir in spinach and beans. Reduce heat and simmer until spinach is wilted, about 4 minutes. Add tortellini to soup. Simmer until pasta is al dente, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with asiago cheese.

Notes

Reheats well!

 

Italian Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage

Italian Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage

Italian Tortellini Soup

Quick and easy…….easy and quick……..healthy-ish. That is what Italian Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage is…….plus all kinds of yummy!!!!!

Sometimes, time is of the essence…….or if you are like me………I’m just damn lazy sometimes! I know eating out is always an option, but truth be told, I would rather cook then get all ready to go out in public.

News Flash……..I am a gobber ! At home…..I’m a bona fide sweatpant, white muscle shirt,sports bra, no makeup, hair in a clip, girl gobber. In my early twenties, I lived to dress up. I never left the house without makeup, hair done……..I mean for Gods sake, someone might see me!!!!

Well……..I’m over most of that. I’m still  not crazy about going with out at least a bit of make up, and looking presentable. So, that’s why I would rather cook than go out and have to give up my gobber girl look. Besides……. easy or difficult I do love to cook.

After having the past few weeks go by in what seems to be a flash………Vegas……sick…….back to work….. still not feeling totally great……..I was ready for a easy quick recipe.

This recipes origin was from one of those supermarket cash register cookbooks, you know the ones at the checkout that beg to be bought while you are standing in line. The original recipe had Italian sausage, but in an effort to be healthy- ish and easy, I bought the Johnsonville chicken sausages…….3 cheese Italian. If you have never tried these, do! They are awesome and come in other flavors. Lower in fat and calories than regular sausage……..bonus…….they are pre cooked.

This is a really basic soup recipe, although it’s a little thicker than soup, not quite a stew. The ingredients are stuff you may just have in your pantry/cupboard already…….notice I added cupboard……..I only wish I had a pantry, and to those of you who do……lucky you!

Italian Tortellini Soup

Just your regular Italian spices, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, a pinch of red pepper flakes, some onion and garlic, add the sausage…….a couple of kinds of tomato, chicken broth to thin it out, simmer for 10 minutes,add the tortellini cook until al dente and oh la la……wait….that’s French, oh well it’s tasty is what it is.

Some fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese to top it off and serve with some garlic bread sticks or your favorite Italian bread.

It yummy, hearty, healthy-ish, warm, and best of all……. easy!

Italian Tortellini Soup Collage

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Italian Tortellini Soup

Italian Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Simmer
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon basil,dried
  • 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed,crushed
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 112 oz. package Johnsonville 3 Cheese Italian Style Chicken Sausage,sliced
  • 19 oz. package fresh cheese tortellini
  • 128 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 114.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley,chopped
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, for topping

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onion,basil,oregano,fennel seed, red pepper flakes,and garlic until onions are wilted and starting to turn translucent, about 7-10 minutes.
  2. Add sliced sausage and heat through. Add both tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.stir in parsley. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Italian Tortellini Soup