Pasta Salad Pointers

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For most pasta salads except Asian types, use small pastas such as penne, fusilli, farfalle, rigatoni, orzo, conchiglie or orecchiette.
Use whole wheat pasta for high-fiber healthy salads. If you find whole-grain too heavy on its own, mix it half-and-half with the same shaped refined pasta.
Aside from fresh vegetables and fresh herbs, other add-ins great for salads include drained canned tuna, prosciutto (ham), smoked turkey, shrimp and drained canned beans such as cannellini or even chickpeas.

Rinse pasta you will use for salad under cold running water to remove excess starch and to keep the pieces from sticking together.
Keep leftover pasta shapes that have similar cooking times together in an airtight container for quick meals.
If just a small amount of pasta remains in the package, cook all the pasta and use the leftovers in salads.

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