CHEESE TORTELLINI SALAD RIVIERA

SOURCE: JEAN VERGNES. A SEASONED CHEF: RECIPES AND REMEMBRANCES FROM THE CHEF AND FORMER CO-OWNER OF NEW YORK’S FAMOUS LE CIRQUE RESTAURANT.

Jean Vergnes left the grand luxe restaurant business twice, temporarily in 1962 and for good in 1978 to join the food production industry. His first venture in the commissary department of the Boston supermarket chain Stop and Shop tasked him to create and develop an industrial line of ready-to-eat and fresh food for shoppers to take home, reheat, and eat without the workups of chopping, grinding, and slicing, whereas his final documented consultant stint at Famiglia Industries, Inc. in 1988 charged him with the responsibility of innovating unique pasta varieties that cater to niche markets. Somewhere among the countless dishes and recipes he churned out from both career phases is a beautiful gourmet salad of navel-shaped pasta from Emilia-Romagna and colorful vegetables that evokes the sunny disposition of the western Mediterranean coastline. Best serve the salad well-chilled to completely infuse the dressing into the tortellini.

Ingredients

1 pound/500 grams cheese tortellini, homemade OR store-bought

1/2 cup/96 grams diced sweet red pimentos

1/2 cup/75 grams diced green peppers

1/4 cup/45 grams sliced black olives

2 tablespoons/8 grams chopped Italian parsley, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

1/2 cup/60 grams toasted and chopped walnuts

1/2 cup/28 grams prosciutto, cut into 1-inch/2.54-cm strips

1 1/2 cup/300 grams diced fresh tomatoes

1 tablespoon/2 grams chopped basil, preferably picked fresh on the same day for best results

Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons/30 mL Dijon mustard

6 tablespoons/90 mL extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoon/45 mL red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons/45 mL mayonnaise, homemade OR store-bought

1 tablespoon/9 grams finely chopped garlic

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Specific Equipment

Large pot

Colander OR strainer

Large mixing bowl

Medium mixing bowl

Wire whisk

Serves 8

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the cheese tortellini and cook until al dente or almost but not quite tender. Drain over a colander or strainer and rinse in cold water.

2. Sprinkle the pimentos, green peppers, olives, parsley, walnuts, prosciutto, tomatoes, and basil into the tortellini. Set aside.

3. Beat Dijon mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper altogether in a medium mixing bowl with a wire whisk until well blended.

4. Drizzle the dressing over the tortellini and vegetables and toss everything altogether until well-blended. Chill for few hours before serving.