Italian Tortellini Salad — The Salad I Bring When I Need to Show Up

Fourth of July. Paul and I didn't go to the fireworks this year. His walking is slower — not impaired, not requiring a device, but slower, the kind of slow that turns a twenty-minute walk into thirty-five minutes and that makes standing in a crowd for an hour uncomfortable. We watched from the porch instead. You can see the Bayfront fireworks from our neighborhood — not perfectly, not the way you see them from the park, but enough. The colors over the treeline, the sound delayed by distance, the boom arriving after the light. Paul said, "It's better from here." I don't know if he meant it or if he was being kind to himself, but I chose to believe him because choosing to believe Paul is a habit I've had for thirty-two years and I'm not changing it now. Erik came over with his folding chair and we sat on the porch — the three of us, Paul and Erik and me — and watched the fireworks and the lake and the sky and nobody mentioned that we weren't at Bayfront this year and nobody mentioned why. The not-mentioning is how Johanssons handle things. It's not denial. It's discretion. There's a difference, though some days the difference is thin. Sven was under the porch. Fireworks. Eleven years old and still terrified. I crawled under the porch and rubbed his ears and talked to him and he pressed against me and trembled and I thought: we are both hiding from things that scare us. The difference is that Sven's fireworks end. Mine don't. I made potato salad for a small block party earlier in the day — the Swedish kind, with the vinaigrette, the recipe the neighbors have been eating for twenty-eight years. Mrs. Henderson (the neighbor, not the patient) came to the door and said, "I look forward to your potato salad all year, Linda." I said, "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson." She looked past me into the house and said, "How's Paul?" I said, "He's fine." She said, "If you need anything." I said, "I know. Thank you." If you need anything. The sentence people say when they don't know what to say. I've been on the giving end of that sentence for thirty-three years in the hospital. Now I'm on the receiving end, and I understand both the inadequacy and the sincerity of it. People don't know what to offer. So they offer everything. And the everything is both too much and exactly right. I made a quiet Fourth dinner: grilled brats, coleslaw, corn on the cob (which Paul can no longer eat off the cob — I cut it off for him, casually, as if it's a preference rather than a limitation). The brats were local, from a butcher in West Duluth. The coleslaw was creamy and tangy. The corn was sweet. The dinner was American and simple and we ate it on the porch while the last fireworks faded and the lake went dark. Another Fourth. Another year. The fireworks end. The dark comes. We go inside.

The Swedish potato salad is the one the neighbors ask for by name, and I’ll keep making it — but there are years when I want something I can put together the morning of without thinking too hard, something that holds up in a bowl on a porch table while the afternoon stretches out. This Italian tortellini salad has become that dish for me: easy to double, impossible to mess up, and the kind of thing that disappears from a folding table without anyone asking for the recipe because they’re too busy eating it. On a day when so much feels quieter than it used to, it helps to bring something generous and uncomplicated to the people who show up.

Italian Tortellini Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 20 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup black olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
• 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup salami or pepperoni, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine), halved
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 3/4 cup Italian dressing (store-bought or homemade)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Instructions

1. Cook the tortellini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package directions until just tender, about 7–9 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Spread on a sheet pan and let cool completely.
2. Prep the vegetables and proteins. While the tortellini cools, halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the olives and pepperoncini, thinly slice the red onion, and cut the salami into bite-sized pieces.
3. Combine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled tortellini, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, red onion, salami, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and parsley. Toss gently to distribute evenly.
4. Dress the salad. Pour the Italian dressing over the salad. Sprinkle with dried oregano and season with salt and black pepper. Toss again until everything is well coated.
5. Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Toss again just before serving and adjust seasoning as needed.
6. Serve. Transfer to a serving bowl and finish with freshly grated Parmesan. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 16g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 820mg