Tortellini Salad

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

SALAD
DRESSING
If your New Year's resolutions include an effort to eat better in 1999,
you're going to enjoy the month of January at Recipe-a-Day. The Cook &
Kitchen Staff are halfway through a month of offering you 31 days of
Recipe-a-Day~Light.
That's right, we're lightening up the fare without lightening up the flavor
of some of your favorite recipes. You can learn to lighten the load of
nearly any recipe by simply substituting low-fat and non-fat ingredients
for their traditional counterparts.
For example, today's recipe is for a very popular pasta salad that has had
substitutions made for the more fattening ingredients. Each serving
contains about 260 calories with 5 grams of fat, cutting both the calories
and the fat grams in half, dramatically.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil on the stove top. In a
small bowl, pour enough of the boiling water over the sun-dried tomatoes to
cover. Let stand for 30 minutes to rehydrate, then drain. Coarsely chop the
tomatoes.
Meanwhile, cook the tortellini in the remaining boiling water until al
dente, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the
cooking.
To prepare the dressing, rub the tomato halves over the coarse side of a
grater above a small bowl until only the skins remain, then discard the
skins. Add the red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, minced garlic, and
seasonings to the juiced tomatoes and whisk until well blended. Pour the
dressing into a jar and seal. You may refrigerate the dressing for about 3
days.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rehydrated tomatoes, cooked tortellini,
artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, scallions, cherry tomatoes, basil,
and prosciutto. Add salad dressing and toss to cover. Season with salt and
pepper to taste.
To serve, mound the tortellini salad on a platter and garnish with fresh
lettuce leaves, if desired.
Kitchen Staff Tip: If you don't want the flavor or expense of prosciutto,
you may elect to substitute julienne turkey pepperoni for this ingredient.
That's right, there's even a low-fat pepperoni available to you right now,
and turkey, too. It's amazing what that bird can do!
Posted to dailyrecipe@recipe-a-day.com by Recipe-a-Day
<recipe-a-day@bignetwork.com> on Jan 15, 1999, converted by MM_Buster
v2.0l.

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