30-Minute Tortellini Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, and Pine Nuts

Why This Recipe Works

To allow the hot pasta to soak up the dressing without turning mushy, we found it best to cook the pasta for our tortellini salad until it was tender and then toss it immediately with the dressing before placing it in the refrigerator to chill. For a bright dressing for our pasta salad that complemented the tomatoes and arugula, we liked a simple mixture made with olive oil and lemon juice. For most dressings, we use a 4:1 ratio of oil to acid, but in this case it came across as far too oily, so we decreased the oil for a more flavorful but less greasy salad.