RECIPE: PENNE 'MEDITERRANEO' SALAD

This is a really great pasta salad to make and unlike most pasta salads, it doesn't use mayonnaise or masses of olive oil as a dressing, it simply uses a red wine vinaigrette base as its dressing which makes it deliciously different and light without drowning out the flavours if the delicious ingredients you use in the salad. So here is the simple recipe for you, using some wonderful and seasonal yellow tomatoes that are vibrant in colour and bursting with flavour;

Penne Mediterraneo

250 of Penne pasta (cooked per packet instructions and then rinsed in cold water)
200gs of marinated artichoke hearts
200g of sunblush (not sundried) tomatoes
**TIP** M&S sell ready made deli pots of olives artichokes and sunblush tomatoes!
100g of your favourite black olives (I used Nicoise but Kalamata are also great)
500g of yellow tomatoes
1 small packed of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
5 tabelspoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Make a quick dressing using your oil and vinegar and salt and pepper. Dress your cooked pasta in the dressing and mix thoroughly. Half your sunblush tomatoes, artichoke hearts (which come in halves, so quarters is what you want) and chop your yellow tomatoes into quarters also before adding them all to your pasta and mixing well. Lastly add your roughly chopped parlsey and mix all the ingredients thoroughly before allowing the pasta salad to rest for at least a coupe of hours to allow the vinaigrette to penetrate the pasta and ingredients and serve! This kind of dish is absolutely perfect as a meal in itself but some grilled fish or chicken or if your a veggie, some grilled Halloumi or fresh Mozzarella really give the dish a boost. This is a great way to use late summer produce like yellow tomatoes, so give it a try whilst they are still around!