Make Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Learn to make and enjoy this wonderful salad, perfect for a relaxing summer day.

Ingredients

Cook the pasta according to packet directions until al dente (soft but with a slight bite). Drain and leave to cool.
Prepare the remaining ingredients: Slice the olives and spring onions finely, roughly chop the herbs, finely slice the bacon and grate the Parmesan.
Roast the capsicum (pepper) by placing it in the oven or under a griller until the skin is black and blistered. Place the capsicum in a zip lock plastic bag to cool.
While the capsicum is cooling, peel the tomatoes by immersing them in boiling water for a few seconds until the skin splits, then plunging them into a large bowl of iced water. Dry the tomatoes and carefully remove the skin. Chop into chunks.
Remove the capsicum from the bag and carefully peel the burnt skin away. Finely slice the remaining flesh.
Dry fry the bacon in a non-stick pan until crisp. Cool slightly.
Make a simple dressing by combining olive oil, lemon juice and mustard in a screw top jar and shake until ingredients are mixed evenly.
To assemble the salad; place the pasta, olives, capsicum, tomatoes, bacon, grated Parmesan and herbs in a large bowl. Crumble over Feta cheese.
Toss ingredients with dressing. Serve immediately.
Finished.

The salad should keep for 2-3 days in a sealed container in the fridge but is unsuitable for freezing.
Use any type of large pasta shape you wish. Bow ties, penne and rigatoni all work well.
Salad should serve 6-8 as a side dish.
Roasted capsicum peppers can be bought from the supermarket in jars of oil, if you prefer. Drain thoroughly on paper towels before adding to the salad.
If you are short on time, a bought olive oil or vinaigrette dressing (such as Italian or French) can be used.

Be careful not to overcook the capsicum; the skin should be black and blistered but the flesh should still be dark red with no trace of burning.
Tomatoes and capsicum will both be hot when removed from cooking. Be careful!