Summer is the best time to enjoy pasta salads, not just rice salads. To prepare the perfect pasta salad there are some specific guidelines. Davide Negri, chef and teacher at La Cucina Italiana Cooking School, has three for you.
1. Cooking
The first rule, and the most important one, is how you cook the pasta. It would be natural to drain the pasta when it’s al dente for fear that it loses its consistency while resting. But that's not actually the case. It’s important that the pasta is cooked not too al dente, then cooled quickly under cold water and drained. This is both to stop the pasta cooking straight away and to prevent the ingredients such as cheese from melting once added. Careful though as this process reduces the flavor, so you may need to salt the pasta again. Another tip from the chef is to use wholemeal pasta!
2. Consistency
It's always best to combine something crunchy to avoid having too similar textures. Opt for vegetables, preferably raw. Tomatoes, peppers, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, radishes, whatever you can think of. Not all of them can be eaten raw (and not everyone likes them raw), so you can grill or boil them quickly, so they don’t lose their crunchiness. Alternatively, try the marinating technique, cutting them into cubes and seasoning them with oil, salt and lemon.
3. Flavors
The pasta not only needs to be cold, but also fresh! For this purpose, the taste of aromatic herbs comes in handy. Some of the best are mint, basil, oregano, verbena, fennel, tarragon, thyme, marjoram. Finally, the great taste of raw extra virgin olive oil is a must.
Now that you know how to manage the different ingredients to create the perfect pasta salad you can have fun with your preferred combinations and flavors! Preferably use seasonal vegetables but try playing around with summer fruits for a more original result.
