Free Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen by Mollie Katzen Page A

with a scattering of chopped lightly toasted walnuts.
Make this vegan by omitting the feta cheese.

 
     
    best pasta salad
    Makes 4 servings (possibly more, if you add a lot from the get creative list)
     
    P asta salad is perfect party or picnic food, and it packs well for bag lunches, too. While the pasta cooks, put the other ingredients together, so they’re ready to dress the pasta as soon as it’s cooked and drained. The heat from the pasta will slightly cook the garlic and onion, and will partially melt the cheese, causing it to stick to the pasta (which adds a layer of texture beyond what you’d get if you just sprinkled cold cheese onto cold pasta). After the dressed pasta has cooled down, you add an assortment of diced vegetables, and possible other goodies, and then either serve it at room temperature or chill it (in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days) and serve it cold. So factor in cooling and possible chilling time when you make this dish.
    Salt for the pasta water
    ¾ pound fusilli (corkscrew), small penne, or orecchiette (“little ears”) pasta
    5 tablespoons olive oil
    ¾ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 medium clove)
    ¾ cup very finely minced red onion
    1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    ¾ teaspoon salt
    1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1 medium bell pepper (any color), diced
    Half a medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
    1. Put a large pot of cold water to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in the sink. When the water boils, add the pasta, keeping the heat high. Cook for the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting a piece of pasta toward the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When it is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not yet mushy, dump the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake emphatically to drain.
     
    2. While the pasta is cooking, combine the olive oil, garlic, onion, Parmesan, vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl (a wide, shallow one works well) and whisk to blend. As soon as the hot pasta is thoroughly drained, add it to the bowlful of dressing, stirring to coat all the pasta. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
     
    3. Add the bell pepper and cucumber, and mix gently but thoroughly. Serve at room temperature, or chill and serve cold.

    GET CREATIVE
Use other pasta shapes (bowties, campanelle, shells) in place of some or all of the fusilli. Or try rainbow fusilli (a mix of white, red, and green; often sold in bulk bins) for extra color.
Make this with high-quality olive oil.
Whisk a teaspoon or two of mayonnaise into the olive oil mixture.
Just before serving, toss in a generous handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and/or about 25 basil leaves, cut into strips.
When adding the bell pepper and cucumber, toss in any of the following:
-Up to 1 cup tiny cherry tomatoes (or regular-sized ones, cut in half)
-Up to ½ cup small pitted olives (any kind you like)
-Up to ½ cup grated or minced carrot, celery, or radishes, for crunch
-Up to 1 cup raw or leftover cooked vegetables (such as zucchini, green beans, or peas)
-Up to ¼ cup minced scallion (white and tender green parts)
-¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts or chopped toasted walnuts
-Cubes of mild cheese (fontina, mozzarella)
-Crumbles of crumbly cheese (feta, goat cheese, ricotta salata)
Make this vegan by using eggless noodles and omitting the Parmesan cheese.

 
     
    old-fashioned iceberg wedges with luxurious bleu cheese dressing
    Makes 4 to 6 servings
     
    O nce upon a time, iceberg lettuce (the clownishly round, very pale green variety) was the only salad green on most American dinner plates. Then for years it seemed to have been banished from all venues except for low-end salad bars and Mexican combo platters. But even though more fashionable species of deeper-hued, smaller, shapelier salad greens replaced it in discriminating culinary circles, in recent years iceberg has