Pasta with sun-dried tomato salsa

By nicla91

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp crushed dried chilies
• 1 red bell pepper; cored, seeded and cut into quarters
• 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 12 oz pasta
• grated parmesan cheese, shredded

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oil in small frying pan over low heat. Add the garlic and dried chilies. Cook slowly, stirring often and pressing the garlic to release the juices, until the garlic is lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. The heat must be very low or the garlic may scorch and turn bitter. Remove from the heat and let soak while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook the red bell pepper skin side down over a barbecue fire, or skin side up under a broiler, until the skin is blackened. Remove from the heat and place it in a plastic bag to steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skin and chop the red bell pepper.

Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and put them into a small bowl with the basil. Add the bacon, garlic mixture, red bell pepper and sliced olives. cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until just tender. Drain well, and then toss with the salsa and parmesan cheese.