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The Honolulu Advertiser
Grilled veggies beef up pasta salad | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Wednesday, March 21, 2007

TASTE
 Grilled veggies beef up pasta salad

 •  Alan Wong and his crew find Culinary insights

By Elaine Magee

Q. I'm looking for a more healthful pasta salad to bring to upcoming spring parties. Since I've given up meat for Lent, I also need it to be meat-free. Am I asking too much?

A. Ask and you shall receive! This is a nice, light pasta recipe that uses whole-wheat pasta, and the dressing is a balsamic-herb mixture made with only a little bit of olive oil. The salad is then "beefed" up with roasted vegetables, which add color, flavor and nutrients. The end result is a hearty and healthy pasta salad with 4 grams of fiber per serving and 5 grams of fat and almost no saturated fat.

ROASTED PEPPER & MUSHROOM PASTA SALAD

  • 4 cups cooked whole-wheat rotelle pasta (about 2 cups dry)

  • 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

  • 4 cups sliced crimini or portobello mushrooms, in bite-size pieces)

  • 1 large (or two small) red, orange or yellow bell peppers, top and seeds removed, sliced into 1/2-inch strips

  • 1 medium red onion with ends and outer skin removed then sliced into 1/4-inch thick half circles

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped (optional)

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    Add cooked and cooled pasta to medium serving bowl. Add canola oil to large, nonstick frying pan over high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until lightly brown, stirring often. Add mushrooms to bowl with pasta.

    Start heating an indoor grill or broiler. Coat the bottom pan with canola cooking spray and add the strips of pepper and onion and coat the top with canola cooking spray. Lower the top of the grill onto the vegetables (or place under broiler if that's what you are using) and cook about 8-10 minutes if using the indoor grill. If using the broiler, cook the vegetables for a few minutes (or until starting to blacken in spots), and then flip the vegetables over to broil other side for a few minutes more. Add vegetables to the bowl with pasta.

    Add rosemary, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic salt and black pepper to a small bowl and whisk to blend. Pour dressing over pasta salad and toss everything together. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

    Makes about 6 (1 1/3-cup) servings.

  • Per serving: 187 calories, 7 g protein, 30 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, .6 g saturated fat, 3.2 g monounsaturated fat, 1.2 g polyunsaturated fat, no cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 234 mg sodium. Calories from fat, 24 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids, .3 g. Weight Watchers points, 3. Omega-6 fatty acids, .9 g

    Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian. Lean more at www.recipedoctor.com.
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