Tortellini Pasta Salad (with Tomatoes, Basil, & Fresh Corn)

Tortellini Pasta Salad in pewter bowl with corn, basil, and tomatoes.

Tortellini Pasta Salad (with Tomatoes, Basil, & Fresh Corn)

Tortellini Pasta Salad is a delicious summer side dish or light supper, studded with bright, juicy tomatoes, fresh sweet corn, ribbons of basil, and an amazing homemade, Parmesan-flecked vinaigrette!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

CHILLING TIME: at least 2

Total Time 2 45

Servings to 8 servings

Calories 402kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

Ingredients

1 (22 to 24-ounce) package frozen OR fresh cheese tortellini
16 ounces (about 3 cups) sliced cherry OR grape tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on size
2 ½ cups fresh corn kernels cooked and sliced from the cob (approximately 14 ounces of corn, which comes from about 4 cobs)
¼ cup fresh basil leaves sliced in a chiffonade
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil OR another neutral-flavored oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil
½ teaspoon fresh minced garlic
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Boil cheese tortellini in salted water according to package directions. Drain and cool. In a large salad bowl, add tortellini, sliced tomatoes, fresh corn kernels, fresh basil chiffonade, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and pepper.
Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Close the jar and shake vigorously until emulsified. Pour over tortellini salad and gently mix all ingredients until well combined. Chill for several hours before serving.

Video

Notes

This method for cooking fresh corn yields perfect texture and flavor without having to fight any sticky, stringy, messy silk.
Cooked fresh corn is highly recommended for this Tortellini Pasta Salad, but frozen (thawed) corn may be substituted.
To chiffonade basil: (1) Stack some basil leaves. (2) Roll tightly like a cigar. (3) Hold firmly while very carefully slicing into thin ribbons with a sharp knife.
You can further mince some of your basil chiffonade into smaller pieces to go in the vinaigrette.
Instead of shaking the vinaigrette in a jar, you may opt to whisk it in a bowl or whiz it together in a mini food processor.
Since olive oil and many other oils solidify when chilled, be sure to allow time for your Tortellini Pasta Salad to come to room temperature and then stir well before serving.
Alternatively, you can opt to use a different neutral-flavored oil (that doesn't solidify when cold) in place of the EVOO, such as canola or avocado oil.
When I make pasta salads that require chilling, I typically don't stir in all of the dressing at the beginning. I initially only stir in enough dressing to coat the ingredients, which is maybe ¾ of the total vinaigrette. Then when I'm ready to serve my pasta salad, I let it come to room temperature and stir in the remainder of the vinaigrette (or as much as I deem necessary) just before serving. This prevents a dry pasta salad, since cooked pasta will absorb a lot of the dressing during the chilling time.

Nutrition