I was looking for ham leftover inspirations and came across antipasto pasta salad and was immediately intrigued by the thought of pasta and pickled Italian goodness (i.e. olives and pepperoncini peppers). Of course, I always throw my own spin on the recipes I see and tonight I’m sharing that spin!

I hope you enjoy it and BTW you can use pepperoni, salami, capicola or any other Italian cured meat versus ham!

Ingredients

• 1 package of cheese tortellini
• 1 cup ham, cubed. If you’d prefer, you can use pepperoni, salami, capicola, sopressata or a combination of any of the meats.
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup mozzarella pearls, cut in half
• 1/4 cup green olives, cut in half
• 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly
• Couple fresh basil leaves, julienne
• Punch of red pepper flakes
• Sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing, or make your own (see my Italian Dressing recipe)

Instructions

1. Begin by boiling a pot of water for your tortellini. Salt the water and add the tortellini to the pot once the water is boiling. Cook the tortellini according to the instructions on the package and drain the pasta once it’s done.

2. Meanwhile, cut your ham and veggies and add them to a large mixing bowl.

3. Add your cooked tortellini to the mixing bowl.

4. Add your julienne basil, red pepper flakes and Italian dressing and toss the ingredients together and taste. If you need salt, add that now.

5. Serve warm for dinner or refrigerator for a summer salad side with grilled burgers or chicken. Enjoy!