Crys's Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is built on one smart move: dressing it twice. Most pasta salads turn out dry because the noodles drink up the dressing as they sit. Here you toss the pasta with most of the Italian dressing, chill it, then add the reserved dressing right before serving, so it hits the table glossy and well-seasoned instead of thirsty.

Tri-color vegetable pasta keeps it bright, diced tomatoes bring juicy freshness, and sliced black olives add briny, salty pops. Four ingredients, no cooking beyond boiling the noodles.

Rinsing the cooked pasta under cold water is the other key step. It stops the cooking, cools the noodles, and washes off surface starch so they stay separate instead of clumping into a sticky mass.

The two-hour chill lets the flavors marry and the salad come together cold, which is exactly how you want it on a hot day.

Kitchen Tips

• Cook the pasta just to al dente; mushy noodles fall apart once dressed.
• Reserve that last quarter of the dressing for serving, since the pasta soaks up whatever you add early.
• Rinse under cold water until the noodles are fully cool to keep them from clumping.
• Salt the pasta water well; it’s your only shot at seasoning the noodles themselves.

Variations

• Add cubed mozzarella, salami or pepperoni for an antipasto spin.
• Toss in diced cucumber, bell pepper or red onion for crunch.
• Use rotini or bowtie, which trap dressing in their nooks.