Description
This Spooky Halloween Side Dish features a festive salad with colorful dyed tortellini, mozzarella cheese shaped into skulls, pepperoni bats, and a tangy red wine vinaigrette. Perfect for adding a fun and creative touch to your Halloween meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Halloween Salad
- 4 ounces pearl size fresh mozzarella balls
- 8 ounces fresh or frozen tortellini
- Gel food coloring for dying tortellini (orange, green, and purple)
- 8 ounces spring mix or arugula
- 4 ounces thick-cut pepperoni cut into shapes with a bat cookie cutter or cubed
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 6 mini sweet peppers thinly sliced crosswise
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives sliced crosswise
Instructions
- Make the Red Wine Vinaigrette: In a jar or dressing bottle with a tight fitting lid, add minced garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Close the lid and shake vigorously until the dressing emulsifies and thickens. Set aside.
- Prepare the Mozzarella Skulls: Blot the mozzarella pearls dry with a paper towel and place one pearl in each cavity of a 1-inch skull-shaped silicone mold. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, watching carefully to avoid browning—just soften the cheese. Using the back of a spoon, press the softened cheese into the crevices of the molds. Transfer the mold to the fridge and chill for about 5 minutes until the cheese hardens again. Pop the shaped cheese skulls out of the molds carefully.
- Cook and Dye the Tortellini: Cook the tortellini according to the package directions and drain well. Divide cooled water into three bowls and add a few drops of gel food coloring (orange, green, and purple) to each bowl, stirring to dissolve. Separate the cooked tortellini evenly among the colored water bowls and let them soak for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Gently pat dry with paper towels.
- Assemble the Salad: Just before serving, in a large bowl, combine the spring mix or arugula, pepperoni shapes, halved tomatoes, sliced mini sweet peppers, sliced kalamata olives, mozzarella skulls, and the dyed tortellini. Toss the salad gently and lightly dress with the prepared red wine vinaigrette to taste. Serve with any remaining vinaigrette on the side.
Notes
- Eat the salad on the same day to avoid sogginess as greens do not hold up well when tossed with dressing for long periods.
- If you expect leftovers, drizzle dressing only over individual servings and keep salad and dressing stored separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to one day.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 250 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 520 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
