By Annette Gallagher
Correspondent

Pasta salad can be incredible or incredibly mundane. Forget about elbow macaroni with mayonnaise, peas and cheddar cheese or anything that involves a box from Kraft.

I’m talking about layers of flavor from good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, prosciutto and other great Italian ingredients.

The first rule for making great pasta salad is to undercook the pasta slightly. While chilling, pasta will absorb a lot of the dressing that it is sitting in, so if it is cooked to a proper al dente, it will be soggy by the time it is eaten.

To that end, it is important to have extra dressing on hand so the salad can be moistened before serving if needed. As for chilling time, the best pasta salads are allowed to chill at least 12 hours, preferably 24, before serving so that the flavors can blend.

The best pastas for salads are the aforementioned (and much maligned by gourmet “experts”) elbows, spirals (rotini), wagon wheels, penne, cavatelli and radiatore. There are more I am forgetting; the rule of thumb is that the diner must be able to pick up the pasta with a fork and no twirling.

Use only the best olive oils for pasta salads. Buy only that which is labeled extra virgin and is imported from Italy, Greece, Spain or Portugal. For the best olive oils in Manchester, go to Angela’s Pasta and Cheese Shop on Chestnut Street, just north of Webster.

Olive oil can be purchased at any supermarket, but United States laws allow for oil labeled extra virgin to be as little as 10 percent extra virgin and the rest to be much cheaper oil. When it comes to olive oil, what you get is truly what you pay for.

To dress eight ounces of pasta, blend cup extra virgin olive oil with three tablespoons balsamic vinegar (another item for which price equals quality). Drain one eight-ounce jar or can of artichoke hearts (marinated or plain) and chop. Toss with vinegar and oil. Add two or three cloves fresh minced garlic, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, one tablespoon dried basil (or a handful of fresh basil leaves, minced). Chop and add two whole roasted red peppers, a cup diced prosciutto and a cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, with their oil. Again, the best place to buy these is Angela’s, although less expensive versions are available at the delis at Shaw’s, Hannaford and Stop & Shop.

Cook the pasta for two minutes less than the time directed on the package. Drain and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Add to the dressing and vegetables; toss gently to combine. Cover and let chill for 12 to 24 hours.

Finally: Cheese. Only add cheese to pasta salad just before serving. Great choices include standards such as Parmesan (grated or shredded), mozzarella (chunks only) and more exotic options such as ricotta salata or an aged provolone. Again, these are far more widely available now than they used to be.

For a really special touch, contact Angela’s to see when one of their rare shipments of real buffalo mozzarella will be in and use it, pinched off the ball into small pieces and added only at the last minute.

­ If you have any questions about cooking, are looking for recipes or have any suggestions, send them to askannette@gmail.com.