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Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Combine the fresh taste of vegetables and herbs with pasta for a salad that is full of flavor and easy to prepare.

Prep and Cook Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: ¼ lb fusilli (corkscrew) pasta 1 large bunch asparagus cut into 1-inch lengths, discarding bottom fourth ½ medium onion, minced ½ basket cherry tomatoes, quartered (gently squeeze to remove seeds) 5-6 medium cloves garlic, pressed 3 TBS chopped fresh basil (or 1 TBS dried basil) 1 TBS chopped fresh tarragon(or 1 tsp dried tarragon) 3 TBS fresh lemon juice 1 TBS balsamic vinegar 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil salt and cracked black pepper to taste *optional 4 oz goat cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to instructions on package.
2. While pasta is cooking prepare rest of the ingredients. Place everything but asparagus in a bowl and set aside.
3. When pasta is about 3 minutes from being done, add asparagus to cooking pasta. (If asparagus is thick you may want to add 4 minutes before it's done. Or if it is thin, add 2 minutes before it's done.) Drain and rinse in cold water in colander when done. Make sure it drains well so it doesn't dilute flavor.
4. Toss with rest of ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.

   Serves 4

Healthy Cooking Tips:

It's easiest to cut the bunch of asparagus at the same time. Just line up ends, cut off the bottom fourth (which is fibrous) and cut rest into 1-inch pieces. Use fresh herbs if possible.

Nutritional Profile

Introduction to Recipe Rating System Chart

In order to better help you identify recipes that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Recipe Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the recipes that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which Mediterranean Pasta Salad is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the recipe doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this recipe's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance back up to see the ingredients used in the recipe and the number of serving sizes provided by the recipe. Our nutrient ratings are based on a single serving. For example, if a recipe makes 4 servings, you would be receiving the nutrient amounts listed in the chart by eating 1/4th of the combined ingredients found in the recipe. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this recipe and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling." Read more background information and details of our rating system.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad 1.00 serving 252.32 grams 238.17 calories Nutrient Amount %DV Nutrient Density World's Healthiest Foods Rating manganese 1.48 mg 74.0 5.6 very good vitamin K 42.01 mcg 52.5 4.0 very good vitamin C 26.12 mg 43.5 3.3 good folate 141.83 mcg 35.5 2.7 good selenium 23.20 mcg 33.1 2.5 good tryptophan 0.08 g 25.0 1.9 good dietary fiber 5.02 g 20.1 1.5 good World's Healthiest Foods Rating Rule excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10% very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5% good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Mediterranean Pasta Salad

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