Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Black Olives

I love this dish, especially after a good workout when you're hungry and don't want to spend hours in the kitchen. Look at all those delicious carbs, mmmhh! I was introduced to this by my roommate (hi there Tine!) -I added olives to the original recipe simply because I love them, and lowered the amount of vinegar used in the sauce to make it easier on the stomach. Perfect!

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Black Olives

(serves 4)

• 500 g raw pasta ( I used whole wheat penne)
• 1 jar (175 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 150 g black olives
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• parmesan cheese to taste

For the sauce:

• 10 tablespoons of your leftover oil preserving the sun-dried tomatoes
• 10 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a big pot, bring water with a pinch of salt to a lively boil, then add your pasta.
2. While your pasta is boiling, chop up your tomatoes and olives. I use a pair of scissors to cut the sun-dried tomoatoes into thin strips, quarter my cherry tomatoes and halve my olives.
3. In a mug or small bowl, combine all the ingredients for your sauce. You will need to stirr the mix for a bit to dissolve the honey and mustard - I'm lazy so I put all my ingredients into a clean, empty jar, screw the lid on tightly and then shake it until the mix looks smooth.
4. Once the pasta is done, strain and transfer into a large bowl.
5. Add the tomatoes, olives and sauce, stirr to combine. Serve with a generous topping of parmesan cheese & enjoy!

This dish tastes great hot or cold. I find that if you let it sit for a couple of hours the pasta absorbs the flavours even better, so I often make this before I go climbing and bring it as a packed lunch - delicious power food that will keep me fueled all day long!