pasta tuna and roasted pepper salad

Fish & Seafood

Pasta Tuna & Roasted Pepper Salad

The secret to this delicious pasta salad is a creamy low-fat dressing made with bottled roasted red peppers. If you have cooked chicken on hand, you can substitute it for the tuna.

Ingredients

1 6-ounce can chunk light tuna in water, drained (see note)
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and sliced (2/3 cup), divided
½ cup finely chopped red onion or scallions
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, coarsely chopped if large
2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, crushed and peeled
⅛ teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 ounces whole-wheat penne or rigatoni, (1 3/4 cups)

Directions

Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil.
Combine tuna, 1/3 cup red peppers, onion (or scallions) and capers in a large bowl.
Combine yogurt, basil, oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and the remaining 1/3 cup red peppers in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.
Cook pasta until just tender, 10 to 14 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add to the tuna mixture along with the red pepper sauce; toss to coat.