A light summer favourite with minimal cooking.

There isn’t much out there that will put me off cooking. But 30+ degree heat? Yep. That’ll do it. So this summer I spent hours searching for dinner recipe inspiration that ticked the boxes; a tasty meal with minimal cooking.

I’ll be honest, we almost solely lived off bruschetta during the heatwave. Not just because it required little to no effort, but the sharp flavours of red onion, fresh tomatoes and juicy mozzarella just undeniably resemble everything we love about summer. So how can I take the zingy flavours of bruschetta and make a healthy dinner salad in under 30 minutes?

There are plenty of salad recipes out there, aptly named “almost-no-cook”, but even the thought of standing over a hot pan frying off a chicken breast to make a Caesar salad was too much for me when temperatures skyrocketed. Enter, the tortellini pasta salad. This genuinely needs minimal cooking and is a super fast recipe, but I promise you it’ll fill you up after a long day at work.

Plus – it’s a total winner for tomorrow’s lunch at your desk.

Recipe ingredients

• 250g pack of Three Cheese tortellini
• Half a red onion
• 5 asparagus spears
• A handful of rocket
• 50g of mini mozzarella balls
• 2 large tomatoes
• Cucumber – approx 3 inches
• A handful of pitted green olives
• 85g of pancetta (smoked or unsmoked)
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• Balsamic glaze
• Teaspoon of garlic powder
• A sprinkle of chilli flakes
• Salt & pepper
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil

Cooking utensils

• A saucepan
• A frying pan
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Mixing bowl

1. Fill your saucepan about three quarters of the way maximum, sprinkle in some salt and bring to boil.
2. Cook your tortellini according to the package instructions. Be really careful not to overcook, you want them to retain their bite!
3. Drain your tortellini and drizzle over a splash of olive oil and toss. This will help to stop the pasta sticking together too much whilst it cools.
4. Get a saucepan on a medium heat (I promise this won’t be for long) and drizzle in some oil.
5. Slice the asparagus spears into half and add to the pan, along with the pancetta chunks. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until the pancetta is crispy and the asparagus has softened. Keep going if you feel 5 minutes hasn’t quite done the job.
6. Season the asparagus & pancetta mixture with pepper and some garlic powder and turn off the heat.
7. Salad time! Chop your tomatoes, cucumber, olives and basil leaves and pop them into a large mixing bowl.
8. Tip in your tortellini to the mixing bowl, followed by the slightly cooled asparagus and pancetta and finally, my favourite bit, mozzarella!
9. Drizzle in a little more virgin olive oil, season with pepper and chilli flakes and then give it all a good mix.
10. Top with your desired amount of balsamic glaze and you’re done!

Tasty tips!

• Can’t hack all of the stove-top work? Omit the steps cooking asparagus and pancetta, and simply add some extra fresh veggies and pre-cooked bacon bits instead!
• Switch it up and make this Italian recipe a little more Greek instead by swapping out the mozzarella for sharp feta cheese.
• Keep things interesting by using different tortellini flavours. Aldi have a great selection from the more basic spinach and ricotta to the slightly more pricy Mezzelune pasta with mushroom and truffle flavours.
• You could even simply swap out the tortellini entirely for some cooked penne for a fantastic work lunch.