Pasta salad

[spring12365]

Please help settle a debate in our family... when you make a cold pasta salad. Do you a) rinse the pasta under cold water so that it cools quickly and to stop it from clumping together or b) tip into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and leave it to cool (the theory being the oil stops it clumping).

I normally do a) but apparently this means that the dressing - in this case pesto - would just slide off. I haven't had any issues so far but google says otherwise. Anyone have any words of wisdom?

I would use the pasta water to make it not stick together.

Even though it is being served cold - e.g. I want it to cool before stirring through pesto?

sort of b
cook pasta
add cream cheese or dressing whilst still warm. onion as well if I use them so that they lose their sting a bit

Yes I think it does work. I haven't done it for a while but when the pasta is draining in the colander I pour the pasta water over it a couple of times as it cools and give it a poke and it stops the stickiness. I just remember an Italian friend going mad if you ever wasted the precious pasta water!

Oh I get it now - that sounds interesting. Then do you just leave it to cool completely?

Yes but in the pan not the colander. Then you can give it a bit of a stir every so often so the pasta water goes over it. Not loads of pasta water in the pan obviously. Just what's dripped off..you probably only need a tablespoon or two. You could add a small amount of oil too if you are really strict about slipperyness but I don't bother.

But the pasta water is full of starch, that ought to make it stick together more not less.

I do!

Put in colander run tap over it cools down really quickly.

I pour a scant tablespoon (depending upon how much pasta you have) of olive oil & stir.