Pasta Salad with Basil Dressing
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs vinegar
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1 pkg (10.5 oz) silken tofu
1 lb asparagus, cut in 1" pieces, with base of stems discarded
2 cups frozen peas
16 oz corkscrew pasta, cooked & rinsed
Make dressing: In a blender, chop the basil leaves with garlic, using on and off turns and scraping down the sides, until finely chopped. Add the olive oil, vinegar and yogurt; blend again. Add the silken tofu and whirl until very smooth. Refrigerate dressing until ready to use.
Make salad: Blanch the asparagus for 1 minute in a large pot of boiling water. When the 1 minute is up, add the frozen peas, stir a few seconds, then drain the vegetables well. Toss the vegetables with the cooked pasta in a large serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
Serve: With a large fork and spoon, toss the salad to separate the corkscrews. Add the dressing and toss to coat well. (If you add the dressing more than a short while before serving, the pasta will absorb much of it. It will still taste great, but will not be as creamy. If you prefer, you may toss the pasta with about 1 Tbs oil to keep it from sticking together and to lessen the amount of dressing absorbed.)
Yield: 12 servings Serving size: 1 cup
Per serving: 195 calories, 2 g total fat (0.2 g sat fat), 10 g pro, 34 g carb, 2.4 g fiber, 48 mg sodium, 0.2 mg cholesterol
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable