Vegetable Ravioli and Mushroom Salad with Kale, Walnut Pesto

This is a delicious main meal salad. Very hearty and filling. We enjoyed it as a winter lunch, it would also be lovely in the summer at suppertime.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

for the pesto:

• 1 cup walnut pieces
• 2 garlic
• 3-4 cups kale, cleaned and cut from the stems
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste
• water as needed to blend

for the salad:

• 1 (8 ounce) package vegetable tortellini
• 1 (8 ounce) package mixed wild mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 generous handfuls arugula

Directions

to make the pesto:

1. Clean the kale. Remove from the stems and roughly chop. Place the chopped kale in a blender or food processor.
2. Add the lemon juice and oil to the kale and pulse to puree the kale.
3. Once the kale is liquefied, add the walnuts and pulse again to puree the nuts.
4. Add the dry mustard powder, salt, pepper, garlic and nutritional yeast and pulse once more to blend.
5. You may need to add a bit of water if it is too thick for your blender to function.

to make the salad:

1. Prepare a pot of lightly salted water to cook the tortellini.
2. Once the water is boiling, add the tortellini to cook. They are ready once they float to the top.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. Clean the mushrooms and slice any that are too large.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and lightly saute the mixed mushrooms.
5. Drain the cooked tortellini.
6. Place a generous portion of arugula on each plate. Next evenly share the tortellini and mushrooms over the arugula.
7. Drizzle the pesto over the salad and serve.