This is a fun, simple craft project, perfect for a healthy after-school snack, or a party appetizer. I based it on a Super Bowl recipe in USA Weekend by Ellie Krieger, host of Healthy Appetite on the Cooking Channel. We added cheese tortellini for fun and a bit of protein! We also added cherry tomatoes, and made a simple and gorgeous purple cabbage serving base into which we stuck the skewers. The kids said it looked like something delicious from outer space. They even ate some of the fresh cabbage! I am always surprised at their reactions to the veggies - they can't get enough. And they munch on basil leaves. Go figure.
Feel free to skip the skewers if you have very young children. We made a point (sorry for pun) about not putting the sharp end of the skewers into one's mouth. The veggies can be neatly unloaded from the skewer by pushing them off with a fork onto a plate. This also makes an outstanding salad.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
- 1 container small cherry tomatoes, rinsed
- 1 package cheese dry tortellini, cooked as directed, or one package fresh, pre-cooked tortellini
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bell peppers (your kids love the bright yellow, orange and red ones) – cut into roughly 1″ squares or chunks
- 1 cup pitted green olives (you can halve these but we used small whole pimento-stuffed ones,
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 purple cabbage, cut in half, with cut side down, as a base to display skewers
- 16 wooden skewers (we blunted the sharp tips by pushing them into a cutting board)
Instructions
- Put cauliflower into a steamer basket and steam over boiling water until somewhat softened but still firm, about four minutes. Or, microwave florets with a tablespoon of water until they are somewhat softened, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, water, garlic, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add the cooled cauliflower, bell pepper chunks, tortellini and olives and toss to coat. Cover and marinate at room temperature for an hour. (In class, we didn’t have time, but results were still delicious. )
- Transfer the veggies to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Marinade can be saved for another use.
- Create your skewers, making a pattern or random assortment of pieces of cauliflower, pepper, olives, tortellini and 2 or 3 basil leaves. You can put the tomatoes into the lineup, or else use them at the very top of the skewer (the non-pointed end.)
- Push the pointed end of the skewers into the cauliflower dome, and serve on a platter or tray.
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2 thoughts on “Antipasto and Tortellini Skewers”
Yum! Great recipes Laura!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It’s the little changes that make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!