Tortellini Salad Recipe

Tortellini Salad

D’Andrea’s was a small Italian deli in a storefront tucked into one end of an aging ’50s era strip mall in Berwyn, IL (Cermak Plaza, made famous in the movie Wayne’s World) that served the most delicious home-style Italian foods — homemade sausage, lasagna, sub sandwiches, mostacolli, olive salads, meatballs, pepper salads and more, all tempted you behind glass windows, and the smell of garlic and cheese and olive oil floated thick through the air; it was difficult not to order a little bit of everything. Usually it was packed and loud and you had to be assertive to get your order in. My family’s favorite was their cold tortellini salad, made with cheese tortellini in a rich and thick marinara sauce.

If I bought just a pound of this salad, it would last less than an hour in the fridge; I think my kids could smell it from outside. Unfortunately, D’Andreas closed a few years ago and ever since then, I have been trying to recreate their delicious, addictive cold tortellini salad. My son doesn’t seem to mind the experiments.

This version is close, he says, and very delicious, but still not quite exactly the old D’Andrea’s. It has a lot of basil and parmesan cheese blended into the sauce, and is served cold or at room temperature. I will continue to fiddle with this, next time adding a bit more basil and cheese, and you could make adjustments as you cook it (comments are welcome!).

We have always served it at summer cook-outs; it pairs up great with Italian sausage, olives, bread and a bottle of nice Italian red wine.

• Olive Oil - 3 Tblsp.
• Garlic - 4 cloves, pressed or minced finely
• Tomato Sauce - 2 15-oz cans
• Basil- 2 Tblsp.
• Parmesan Cheese -  4 Tblsp., freshly grated
• Salt - 1/2 tsp.
• Pepper - 1/4 tsp.
• Cheese Tortellini - 1 lb. ( I use frozen)
• Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated - 1/4 cup, optional topping

1. Sautee garlic and basil in olive oil over medium heat, for about 2 minutes.
2. Lower heat and add tomato sauce. Blend well.
3. Increase heat to medium and add Parmesan cheese. Blend well.
4. Continue stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes, to ensure that cheese melts and blends into the sauce.
5. Lower heat to simmer for another 30-45 minutes. stirring occasionally, cooking until sauce becomes medium thick.
6. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in boiling water until el dente (slightly firm).
7. Drain tortellini, and when the sauce is cools a bit, combine the 2 in a bowl and mix well, to cover the tortellini completely.
8. Refrigerate until chilled, and serve cold or let it come to room temperature.
9. Optionally, you can drizzle Parmesan or Romano cheese on top before serving.

Proud Italian Cook has pictures and a review of D’Andrea’s here, and a lot of other great Italian recipes (but sadly, none for D’Andreas tortellini salad.)

Make it a meal with:

• Grilled Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Italian Cheeses and Artichokes

• Frozen Lemon Cream Pie

Tags: Italian, pasta, Picnics, Summer, Vegetarian