Greek Style Macaroni Salad

3/4 cup, olive oil
2 tablespoons, freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves, garlic – minced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound, macaroni (or substitute another short-cut pasta)
3 medium-size ripe tomatoes – peeled and chopped coarsely
1 small cucumber – peeled, cut in half, seeded and sliced
1 small red onion – chopped
1/4 cup, chopped fresh parsley (Italian flat-leaf parsley is best)
6 ounces, feta cheese – crumbled (or substitute goat cheese)

anchovy fillets (for garnish – optional)
Kalamata or other Greek olives (for garnish)

Combine 1/2 cup of the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a generous 4 quarts of boiling water, cook the macaroni until just tender (al dente) but still chewy. Drain the macaroni and toss in a mixing bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Allow macaroni to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (gently) to coat each piece of pasta with the olive oil. To the cooled pasta, add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and parsley; blend thoroughly. Add the reserved dressing, and mix again. Gently stir in most of the crumbled cheese, saving some for garnish.

To serve: garnish the salad with reserved crumbled cheese, anchovies (make an “x” on top with anchovy fillets) and Greek olives. Serves 10 as a side dish