This is a recipe that makes nearly any vegetarian squeal in delight!  A hearty salad filled with flavor and you wont be hungry in an hour!  Everyone I have served this to has begged for the recipe so here it is!  A favorite for young and old.  I devised this recipe on my own as an answer to what to bring to gatherings or potlucks that I could eat, that nobody else would be bringing.  We pick out own morels on my fathers land in northern Mn.  That is part of the fun and magic but it is just as good to grill other mushrooms you may like for an earthy flavor.

Wild Thyme Pasta Salad

~1 family sized package of fresh cheese or spinach tortellini

~1 small jar of pesto or homemade pesto if you have it (lucky!)

~small jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil.

~mushrooms, you choose the variety, we love morels which we pick fresh here in Northern MN, or grilled portobellos are fantastic too

~Black Pepper

~Roasted pine nuts

~Fresh Baby Spinach

~Garlic to taste

~ Fresh thyme from the garden (rosemary would be good too!)

~Fresh Parmesan cheese

Optional ingredients:

Olives, Capers, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, meat if you must.

Instructions:

Grill mushrooms on the stove or outdoors, slice sun dried tomatoes, chop herbs and spinach.  Boil pasta in salted water until al dente.  Drain and place in a large bowl with all ingredients including fresh spinach.  It will wilt with the warm pasta and stay green and lovely.  Chill and add a bit of olive oil if it looks dry and toss.  It depends on how much oil is in the tomatoes and pesto.  You can serve it hot or cold.  (great for potlucks!)