Bow Ties with Tomatoes, Feta, and Balsamic Dressing

You're reading the recipe correctly: There are green grapes in this dish. Their juicy, crisp, and bright sweetness complements the tomatoes and provides a nice contrast to feta's creamy tang. Besides the pan-grilled asparagus shown, any green vegetable sautéed or grilled with a little garlic, salt, and pepper makes a good side―try spinach, broccoli, or even kale.

This recipe features a surprise ingredient–green grapes–that adds just the right amount of sweetness to the simple, two-step pasta dinner. Serve with pan-grilled asparagus.

Yield:
4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Ingredients6 ounces uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
2 teaspoons capers
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (4-ounce) package crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese.

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Combine cooked pasta, tomatoes, grapes, and basil in a large bowl.

2. While pasta cooks, combine vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil to vinegar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle vinaigrette over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Add cheese; toss to combine.

Pan-grilled asparagus: Combine 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 pound trimmed asparagus. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add asparagus to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, turning once.

Nutritional Information

Calories 320
Fat 9.9 g
Satfat 3.8 g
Monofat 3.6 g
Polyfat 0.7 g
Protein 14 g
Carbohydrate 45.6 g
Fiber 3.4 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Iron 2 mg
Sodium 822 mg
Calcium 130 mg.

Source:

http://www.myrecipes.com/