Smoked Gouda Pasta Salad

I LOVE this pasta. My friend, Tracy Fussaro introduced this to me at the beach this summer, and it's easy, yummy, and a different spin on traditional pasta salad. I usually don't prefer smoked cheeses, but the smoked gouda is perfect in this recipe! The original recipe calls for rinsing the pasta with cold water before adding the cheese, tomatoes, etc, but I wanted the cheese to melt all through the pasta, so I left it warm. I made one for adults with the arugula and left out the arugula for the kids...I sold it as "pizza pasta" and my kids have now eaten it for dinner two nights in a row!

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta

1/2 garlic clove

1/3 cup mayo

1/2 pound smoked gouda, cut in 1/4" cubes

1 (7 ounce) jar of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. Drain them and slice thinly. (I used the Sundried Tomato Bruschetta mixture...about 5 oz)

2 cups arugula 

olive oil (about 1/4 cup)

Method:

1. Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain.

2. Mix all ingredients with the pasta. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil. Mix well. Chill an hour before serving or serve at room temperature.

Happy Cooking!