*Incredibly Tasty Pasta Salad*
Serves 6 to 8

Not only is this a wonderfully easy side dish for these hot summer evenings, but if you chose to add a bit of cooked chicken or ham, or even some cheese, you would have a really tasty salad main course!  The dressing is phenomenal and makes more than you need, but that's ok, once you taste it you will always want to have a bottle of it in your fridge ready to use for other salads!  This tangy sun dried tomato dressing will keep about a week, covered, in the fridge

For the Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup (50ml) drained oil packed sun dried tomatoes
2 TBS good quality Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup (125ml) cold water
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Salad:
8 ounces pasta, cooked, drained, rinsed in cold water and drained again
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 to 4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
2 1/2 ounces of dry cured black olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 TBS chopped flat leaf parsley

Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette into a blender and blitz until fairly smooth and well blended.  Set aside.  Mix the pasta, vegetables and olives together in a large bowl.  Add 1 cup (8 ounces) of the salad dressing to the pasta mix and gently mix together.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle the chopped parsley over top and serve immediately.  You may make this ahead and keep it stored in the refrigerator.  Just add a bit more of the dressing before you serve it.