Recipe(tried): Pasta Salad with Currants Olives and Pine Nuts

This wonderful recipe had served as base for the development of many of my favorite pasta salads. Just as it is is marvelous & if you use your creativity adding or switching ingredients you will have wonderful satisfying salads everytime. I am sure that I had posted it before, but here it goes again.

Pasta Salad with Currants Olives & Pine Nuts
Yield: 8 servings
Source: Edena Sheldon in "Bon Appetit" August, 1991

1 lb Penne pasta (I usually use bowties-farfalle)
1 Garlic clove, quartered
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Packed stemmed fresh parsley
1/4 cup Fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
1 tsp Curry powder
1 tsp Sugar
3/4 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 cup Olive oil
1 Red onion peeled, finely chopped
1 cup Sliced Kalamata olives (pitted)I use pimento stuffed green olives well sliced
2/3 cup Dried currants (I usually use golden raisins-sultanas instead of Dried currants)
2/3 cup Toasted pine nuts
Fresh parsley sprigs
Cherry tomatoes (if not available, I use chopped tomatoes)
I add 1/2 cup heavy cream to the dressing & it provides an unexpected creaminess and flavor

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain well. Transfer pasta to large bowl. Meanwhile, blend Garlic and salt to paste in processor, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add 1 cup parsley and mince. Blend in lemon juice, vinegar, curry, sugar, cumin and pepper. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube in thin steady stream. Pour dressing over pasta. Add onion, olives, currants and pine nuts to pasta and toss. Season with pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead.) Garnish salad with parsley sprigs and cherry tomatoes and serve.