Blackened Salmon Salad with Warm Tortellini

[kirra]

Blackened Salmon Salad with Warm Tortellini

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 package fresh tri-colored cheese tortellini pasta
6 Salmon Steaks
Olive oil
1 tbsp. Jamaincan Jerk Seasoning
6 Roma Tomatos
2 heads Romaine lettuce
1 med. red onion
Fresh ground black pepper

Italian Dressing

1 C good salad oil
1/4 C vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
dash Tabasco

Preparation:

Make dressing first and set aside. Combine all dressing ingredients in jar and shake.

Cook tortellini according to pkg directions and drain. While still warm add enough Italian dressing to tortellini to liberally coat. The dressing will be absorbed by the warm pasta. Set aside.

Place fresh salmon steaks on foil lined pan that has been sprayed well with PAM. Brush tops of steaks generously with olive oil and sprinkle each steak with about 1 Tbsp of Jamaican Jerk seasonings. Pat more oil on top to make a paste like consistency of the seasoning. Bake in a very hot oven (400 degrees) or better yet place on grill. cook approximately 8 min based on steak size and thickness.

While steaks are cooking, cut Romas into quarters. Arrange 5 Romaine leaves in spoke fashion on each plate and place the Roma quarters between the leaves close to the outside edge of the plate. Spoon the tortellinis in the middle of each plate and lay a steak on top breaking the steak apart into a few large pieces. Top with paper thin slices of red onion. Sprinkle with additional dressing and grind fresh black pepper over the top.

Note: Serve while warm with warm crusty rolls.