Low Fat Vegetable Pasta Salad
This light, low-fat, multicolored salad is an original. When I serve it at potlucks, I'm always asked for the recipe.
This light, low-fat, multicolored salad is an original. When I serve it at potlucks, I'm always asked for the recipe.
- 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- dressing
- 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 medium zucchini thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed
- 12 ounces spiral pasta cooked and drained
- 6 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 cups frozen broccoli and cauliflower ; thawed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots parboiled
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 1 can sliced ripe black olives (2 1/4 ounces); drained
- 1 6-oz jar marinated artichoke hearts (6 oz); drained; and quartered
- 1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup fat free italian salad dressing
- Carbohydrate 39.20647495993 g
- Cholesterol 32.20875 mg
- Fat 7.179987940705 g
- Fiber 4.32035214373067 g
- Protein 8.77797335737 g
- Saturated Fat 1.020651875 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (272g)
- Sodium 486.702343749877 mg
- Sugar 34.8861228161993 g
- Trans Fat 0.691245909454998 g
- Calories 249 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, combine pasta, onions, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, celery, olives, peas and artichoke hearts.
- In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients; mix well. Pour over salad and toss.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Vibrant green peas, pale zucchini rounds, and dark olives yield a crisp, multi-textured dish that holds its structure when thoroughly chilled. Pasta salads often suffer from soggy textures or waterlogged vegetables because high-moisture ingredients like zucchini and thawed brassicas release liquid as they sit. Salt draws out moisture through osmosis, so parboiling the carrots and thoroughly draining thawed broccoli and cauliflower prevents excess water from diluting the dressing.
Preserved components such as marinated artichoke hearts and canned olives bring concentrated acidity and umami that raw vegetables alone cannot supply. Combining fat-free mayonnaise and sour cream with bottled Italian dressing creates a creamy yet tangy coating without excess lipids. This emulsion clings efficiently to spiral pasta ridges only when the pasta is rinsed in cold water immediately after boiling to stop cooking and remove surface starch.
Refrigerating the mixture for at least one hour allows the starches to firm up and the dried Italian herbs to hydrate in the dressing. For optimal texture, consume this dish within two days of mixing.
