Greek Tortellini Salad with Tomatoes, Avocados, Cucumbers, and Feta Cheese

Ingredients :

Greek Salad Dressing:

·       ¼ cup olive oil

·       3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

·       ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or more, to taste

·       ¼ teaspoon salt or more, to taste

Salad:

·       2 ½ cups tortellini , cooked and cold

·       2 cups tomatoes , sliced

·       1 cucumber , sliced

·       1 avocado , cubed

·       1 cup red bell peppers , sliced

·       1 cup feta cheese , crumbled

·       2 ounces black olives , finely chopped

·       ¼ red onion , thinly sliced

Instructions :

Greek Salad Dressing:

1.    In a medium bowl, whisk together all salad dressing ingredients, except salt.

2.    Add just enough salt to suit your tastes - should be about ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Greek Tortellini Salad:

1.    In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients.

2.    Add just enough of the dressing to the salad to coat and toss.

3.    Don't add all the salad dressing at once - you will probably use only about half of the salad dressing.

4.    At this point, your salad is ready to serve.

5.    Or, you can cover and chill the salad for a couple of hours or refrigerate overnight.

6.    Also chill (or refrigerate) the remaining dressing.

7.    Before serving, let the salad (and the remaining dressing) sit at room temperature for some time because olive oil in the dressing would've have solidified in the refrigerator - let it liquify.

8.    Add more of the reserved dressing to the salad, if necessary.