Warm Pasta Salad With Shrimp

Warm pasta salad is great for a quick weekday meal.

I usually don’t care for pasta salad, unless it’s Will’s Famous Pasta Salad, which is a unique creation of its own. Usually the pasta salads I avoid are the ones with mayo dripping from the spoon. Gross. I’ve never been a fan of mayonnaise and it takes a lot to get me to eat cold noodles.

I was flipping through Cooking Light’s One Dish Meals booklet when I came across a recipe for warm pasta salad with shrimp. It’s nice to see a recipe that includes pasta, but isn’t bad for you. A two cup serving is just over 400 calories. Yum.

Besides the health benefits of this main dish, it’s pretty delicious. Beans add filling amounts of fiber, while red onion and spinach add color. Toss in some lemon juice and dijon mustard and it’s done. The longest part is getting the water to boil for the pasta.

 

 

Recipe for warm pasta salad with shrimp

• 3 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 12 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1 cup canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped caper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Combine juice, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in salt and pepper.
3.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until done. Stir in spinach, cannellini beans, red onion, and 2 tablespoons capers; toss to combine. Add the pasta and juice mixture to shrimp mixture; toss.

Tags: comfort food, homemade, Recipes, reviews, salad

Category: salad