Antipasto Pasta

Ingredients

200g pasta (about 100g dry per person, so adjust below amounts accordingly) (cook according to packet directions.)
100g sundried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped into small pieces
1 jar marinated artichokes
1/2 cup olives (pitted if you wish, not necessary)
2 tablespoons capers
1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
oz lots of olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
herbs as you wish

Step 1
In a large frying pan, heat about 1/4 cup good olive oil to warm and gently poach your garlic slices in it for 10 minutes - you don't want them to brown, you just want them to infuse the olive oil.
Step 2
To the olive oil add your sundried tomatoes, artichokes (don't bother draining, just scoop them out of the jar as-is), olives, capers and cherry tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper and simmer them for a bit until the sundried tomatoes warm through and swell up and the cherry tomatoes are softening and collapsing, 10-15 minutes.
Step 3
When everything is warmed through and the flavours have had a chance to relax and mingle (offer them wine, that helps - I often add a splash of dry white just to liven things up), stir through your hot pasta and keep stirring in the frying pan to coat the pasta in the sauce and help it absorb some of the flavours. Add a bit of the pasta water from time to time to help amalgamate the sauce with its delicious startchiness. Check for seasoning (it can take a fair bit of salt, don't be shy, I've also been known to add a slab of good quality salty butter), and add fresh herbs if you have them/want them.
Step 4
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan-style cheese or a tangy feta or goat cheese, sea salt, and cracked black pepper.