Pasta & Walnut Fruit Salad with Pappardelle's Fanciful Fruit Blend (serves 6-8)

This salad has loads of flavor and texture without being overly fussy or sweet. If you want to dial the sweetness up a notch, a drizzle of honey would be a nice addition. I cut back on the apple, knowing I would have to eat around those delicious, juicy morsels. It worked out well enough since my partner in crime isn’t enthralled with celery or mandarin oranges. We were reminiscent of children trading snacks in the cafeteria.

Ingredients

1/2 lb Pappardelle’s Fanciful Fruit Blend Pasta
8 oz non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
1-15 oz can drained mandarin oranges
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
1 Fuji apple, cored and chopped (* I used 3/4 of a Fuji apple)
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 cup walnut halves

Method

1.  Cook pasta in 6-8 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

2.  In small bowl, blend yogurt and orange juice concentrate.

3.  In large bowl, combine pasta and remaining ingredients.

4.  Add yogurt mixture and toss to coat. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Copyright © 2011 by Pappardelle’s Pasta Co.

Source of Inspiration

The recipe comes from none other then Pappardelle's Pasta!  The photo, description, and substitutions come courtesy of The Eclectic Connoisseur's Weblog.