The Recipe Doctor: Roasted veggies ‘beef up’ pasta salad

Dear Recipe Doctor: I’m looking for a more healthful pasta salad to bring to a bunch of spring parties that are coming up. 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 some color, flavor and nutrients into the mix. 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 and Mushroom Pasta Salad

4 cups cooked whole wheat Rotelle Pasta (about 2 cups dry)

1 tablespoon canola oil (olive oil may be substituted)

4 cups sliced crimini or Portobello mushrooms (cut Portobello mushrooms into bite-size pieces)

1 large (or two small) red, orange or yellow bell pepper, top and seeds removed then cut in half widthwise and 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 sauté until lightly brown, stirring often. Add mushrooms to bowl with pasta.

Start heating an indoor grill (like a George Foreman) 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 to 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 the other side for a few minutes more. Add vegetables to the bowl with pasta.

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

Yield: About 6 (1 1/3-cup) servings

Nutrition per serving: 187 calories, 5 grams fat (.6 grams saturated, 24 percent fat calories), 7 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 234 milligrams sodium.

Weight Watchers POINTS = 3