Tortellini tomato salad with pesto dressing + possible improvisations

This is a very easy and convenient to make comfort food for when you're too busy or lazy to actually cook or even shop for ingredients. It's all made with pantry basics, and what's even best is that the recipe is an ideal canvas for multiple extra ideas of improvisation (I will detail a short list of such variations below).
To me, this is one of the recipes that proves comfort lazy food doesn't necessarily need to be junk food. Enjoy. :)

Last year: Pink raspberry lemonade (raw vegan).
Two years ago: Pain aux herbes de Provence (French) (vegan).
Three years ago: Baby making and no cooking :) .




Ingredients (for one):

• 125 g fresh tortellini from the bag
• 2 tablespoons fresh green pesto from the jar
• 1 medium tomato, not overly ripe
• 2 tablespoons chopped black olives
• 1/4 of a red onion, chopped (optional)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

First chop the tomato and put it in a serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper and let it stand for a bit.

Next, boil the tortellini according to package instructions and add them to the bowl. Also add the chopped onion and olives. Mix in the pesto. It's done, dig in! :)

Other ideas for this salad:

Keep the convenient pesto dressing, but replace the tomato + onion + olives with any of the following combos:

• sun-dried tomato + corn
• canned artichoke hearts (preferably marinated) + salad leaves (like rucola) + croutons
• canned beans + roasted bell peppers from the jar
• tuna + capers + red onion
• mozzarella + cherry tomatoes (for a caprese classic spin)
• sliced leeks + pumpkin seeds 
• sliced cucumbers + cubed celery root + white grapes
• left-over chicken, shredded + tomato + bacon
• crumbled feta cheese + peas or green beans from the jar
• canned sardines + a handful of salad leaves + croutons

Etc. The possible improvisation list obviously doesn't end here. Get creative and enjoy. (And keep your cupboard well stocked with cans of all sorts) :).