Pasta Salad with Salmon, Peas, and Herbs

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski

Imagine a decadently rich creamy pasta salad with salmon that’s actually good for you. Well here you have it. The secret is in the dressing, which has a base of tangy thickened yogurt that’s the ideal foil for the rich salmon. Sweet peas stud the dish with beautiful color and dill and scallion make it delightfully fragrant and flavorful.

Pasta Salad with Salmon, Peas, and Herbs

Ingredients

2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (nonfat, low-fat or whole)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can wild red salmon, drained, skinned and boned, and cut into chunks
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, defrosted
½ pound bowtie or corkscrew pasta, cooked according to package directions and cooled
2 scallions (white and green parts), minced (about ¼ cup)
8 cups chopped or torn red-leaf lettuce

Directions

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, mayonnaise, lemon zest, dill, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to incorporate. Add the salmon, peas, pasta, and scallions and toss to incorporate. The pasta salad will keep up to 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To serve, mound 2 cups of the lettuce onto each plate or into to-go containers and scoop about 1 ¾ cups of the pasta salad on top.

Makes 4 servings

Serving size: 1 ¾ cups pasta salad and 2 cups lettuce

Per serving (made with nonfat yogurt): Calories 490; Total Fat 14g (Sat Fat 2g, Mono Fat 1.75g, Poly Fat 1.5g); Protein 35g; Carb 56g; Fiber 6g; Cholesterol 55mg; Sodium 730mg

Excellent Source of: Fiber, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Niacin, Phosphorus, Protein, Riboflavin, Selenium, Thiamin, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin K

Good Source of: Copper, Potassium, Vitamin B6, Zinc