Need a tasty new side dish for the holiday weekend? This pasta salad uses all your favorite fresh summer veggies! Make sure you double or triple the recipe for a party-size portion.
(For 4 servings)
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Difficulty: easy
Cannot be frozen
Ingredients:
450 g | 16 oz | 4 cups penne pasta
225 g | 8 oz | 2 cups green asparagus, trimmed
175 g | 6 oz | 3/4 cup fresh buffalo mozzarella, drained and torn
4 small vine tomatoes, cored and quartered
1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 – 4 fresh thyme sprigs
kosher salt
freshly ground black
Method:
1 Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted, boiling water until ‘al dente, ‘ about 10-12 minutes usually.
2 Remove the pasta to a large bowl of iced water using a spider skimmer. Return the water to a steady simmer before adding the asparagus, cooking until just tender to the tip of a knife, about 2 minutes. Drain and add to the bowl of iced water.
3 Drain the pasta and asparagus, patting dry with paper towels. Cut the asparagus into sections.
4 In a large bowl, combine the pasta, asparagus, tomatoes, bell pepper, mozzarella, olive oil, and some salt and pepper to taste, tossing to combine.
5 Divide between plates and garnish with thyme sprigs.
Nutritional information:
calories: 609
protein (g): 24.1
carbs (g): 91.3
sugars (g): 5.4
fat (g): 18.5
sat. fat (g): 1.1
fiber (g): 6.1
sodium (mg): 522