pasta salad

There are few things in life as dependable as a pasta salad. The simplicity in preparation alone is enough to recommend it. One bowl, one cutting board, and one good knife and you're in business! So forgiving in its demands that even the most naive and inexperienced of home cooks can arrive at the church picnic with no fear of overhearing unfortunate whispered gossip about their potluck contribution. Conversely, the endless possibilities in ingredients allow for inspired creativity when prepared by an, ahem...seasoned chef.

Shall we begin with the pasta itself? Before even tasting the noodle we must relish their names, words that I find a great satisfaction in pronouncing with a semi-authentic Italian accent. Penne! Farfalle! Rigatoni! Fusilli! Orecchiette! Even the commoner of the bunch, macaroni, can find her glory in a delicious cold salad with the proper supporting actors.

Now, a classic choice would be a penne or a fusilli, and I certainly can't find any fault with either choice. It is of paramount importance, of course, that the pasta not be overdone. I really can't stress this enough. If ever there were a time that a slightly underdone pasta is appropriate, it is in the construction of a heavenly pasta salad. A good clean rinse on a perfectly boiled pasta is the virgin canvas awaiting your artist's touch.

Perhaps it is the Sicilian blood running through my veins from lo, those three generations back, but I am a fool for a classic Sicilian pasta salad. Oh, it boasts all the usual suspects: Fresh tomatoes, olives, garlic, fresh herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Because this is a simple salad, the excellent quality of the ingredients is most necessary. Please don't use those anemic-looking grocery store tomatoes that are hard as rocks and barely red in color. Whenever possible the tomatoes should be fresh from a garden, preferably still warm from the afternoon sun. Oh, I know...dare to dream.

And yet...perhaps I can inspire you to grow a tomato plant. Those little cherry or grape toms will work, as well. Fresh garlic is crucial, fresh herbs even more so. Are we catching on? The theme is fresh! Imagine the fresh grass tickling your feet under the picnic table as you breathe deeply of the fresh summer air, cooling slightly as the sun dips below the fresh, puffy clouds on the horizon. Perhaps your lover - the one for whom you have crafted this marvelous meal, a meal unto itself! - perhaps he leans in (always so fresh!) and steals your kisses, perfumed with garlic, and perhaps he sighs, satiated.

Choose your ingredients as if you had to kiss them, for you shall! In fact, they will become part of you, in the most literal and vital way. Organic, heirloom grain pasta, heirloom tomato, homegrown herbs, authentic olives in Italian brine, true, pure olive oil and the finest of sea salt: This is how you can build a meal that is as simple as it is hearty.

Creativity, of course, is not to be discouraged. The pasta itself is but a beautiful nude awaiting costume, accessory, decoration. Make her irresistible. You might veer into the territory of the American southwest, mixing in such ingredients as roasted corn kernels, diced poblano chili, cubed roasted yam, black beans, and cumin. Perhaps you use a rice noodle and find your inspiration in the far east: Green onions, cilantro, and fresh ginger embracing the sugar snap peas and red bell peppers that will pop in a sesame, ginger, and soy dressing.

Whatever you decide, your pasta salad will be forgiving. It will still be good tomorrow. Shoot, in a pinch it can even go in the microwave later, taking some bottled red sauce on top, ever versatile. Easy to make and easy to transport, it doesn't raise eyebrows after a couple of hours in the sun like a potato or chicken salad might. It tastes good right out of the fridge or when it has been brought to room temperature. It can be served in the humblest of school potlucks and still hold its own at a first-class wedding luncheon.

Oh, pasta salad, you fill me up. You remind me of outdoor lunches in the dappled shade, bubbles blown by round-cheeked toddlers with messy faces, the splash of a kid...Cannonball! into the pool. I have visions of paper plates tipped over onto grassy slopes, bouncy noodles peeking from beneath that Chinet rim. I can taste garlic in my mouth and yes, I dream of pasta salad kisses. More, please.