Green Goddess Pasta Salad; sooo healthy!

 

I've probably mentioned before that my girlfriends are my "new recipe guinea pigs"...but seriously, who better to try things out on? They love food as much as me, and my immediate family (husband and 4-year-old daughter) are a bit picky; food-wise.  I found this recipe in Health magazine (www.health.com) and have been dying to try it. Total success! It was crunchy, cheesy, savory and kind of "green-ey" (in a good way). 300 calories (sorry), but also 16 grams of protein!

I paired it with store-bought Parmesan foccacia topped with cherry tomatoes from my garden - delish!

Green Goddess Pasta Salad

12 ounces mini ravioli or tortellini (I got my mini cheese ravioli at Trader Joe's)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbl. sliced almonds
6 cups watercress or baby arugula (I used baby arugula)
1 Tbl. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shavings

Cook pasta as package label directs.  Add asparagus and peas to the cooking pasta during the last 2 minutes. Drain well and let cool slightly.  While pasta is cooking, place almonds in a small dry skillet over medium  heat and cook, shaking pan often, until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool and set aside.  Place cooked pasta and veggies in a large bowl and toss with watercress/arugula, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Top with almonds and Parmesan and serve.