Tarragon Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

This is a wonderful take on pasta salads. With the flavor of the roasted asparagus, the baked tofu and shallots, there’s no need for a heavy, rich mayo-sour cream dressing. The lemon juice and cayenne dressing is the perfect accompaniment to the other flavors. I just made a couple of small changes to the recipe for convenience, but I’ll list the original recipe and my changes.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz rotini pasta (I used about 16oz because I just didn’t think 8oz was quite enough)
1/4C plus 1 Tbs olive oil
1 lb thin asparagus, bottoms trimmed (I cut them into about 1 1/2″ pieces as well)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
Cayenne, to taste (I used about 1/8 of a tsp)
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 shallots, minced
1 large, ripe yellow tomato, seeded and diced (I used a large roma tomato)
8 oz baked tofu, cut into small cubes (I used Westsoy’s Garlic and Herb baked tofu–so yummy)!
2 Tbs minced fresh tarragon leaves

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta until al dente, 8-10 mins. Drain and rinse under cold water. Place in a large bowl, toss with 1 tsp of the olive oil and set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the asparagus on a lightly oiled baking sheet, season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with 1 tsp of the olive oil. Roast until soft and lightly browned, about 10 mins. Set aside and cool. (I did this while the pasta was cooking). In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt and cayenne to taste. Whisk in the remaining olive oil until well blended and pour over the pasta. Add the bell pepper, shallots, tomato, tofu and tarragon and toss to combine well. Divide among 4 individual plates and top with the asparagus. Serve immediately. (I added the asparagus with the other ingredients). Enjoy!

Recipe source: Vegan Planet