Food trends come and go, but for me, 2024′s dense bean salads are forever.
The phase saw people tip tins of beans into enormous containers with oil, sturdy veg, and (sometimes) carbs like pasta or couscous. The idea was as simple as it was appealing: the longer it lasts, the better the easy, grab-and-go meal tastes.
My dense bean salads predated even the term. I’ve always loved tossing orecchiette (I find the pasta shape maintains its bite the best after a few days) with chicken and roasted root veg, or mixing orzo with chickpeas, beets, and feta.
But I’ve shared a problem that was recently shared to r/Askculinary, a subreddit where non-chefs ask the pros for their kitchen secrets, all too often.
Site user MeowNugget wanted to know how to get their cold pasta salad like the one from their supermarket’s deli, which they say “has a nice slickness too it without being overly oily and doesn’t have a strong oil taste.”
How can you stop pasta salad from drying out or feeling oily?
Not since I discovered that Jamie Oliver breaks his lasagne sheets into shards before using them have I been so alarmed but ― apparently the secret is to overcook the pasta.
“In my experience for pasta salad, it’s better to overcook the pasta past al dente by 2-3 minutes then rinse with cold water,” site user WaxStan commented.
“The pasta will firm up as it cools overnight, and the extra water from cooking it past al dente means it will absorb less of the dressing. Rinsing it also removes some starch that would otherwise thicken the dressing and can make it gummy.”
The Redditor isn’t alone ― America’s Test Kitchen recommends the technique too.
“Since pasta salad is served cold, the noodles will go through a process called retrogradation as they cool, which makes al dente pasta become overly firm,” the publication shared.
That leads to tough, chewy pasta which repels sauce, leaving it both drier and more oily.
To counterbalance that, the experts suggest cooking pasta for three minutes longer than is recommended. Having tried it myself, I’ve been amazed by the results ― the texture stays perfect for day
Why does “retrogradation” happen?
Ohio State University explains that pasta’s molecules separate a little as they cook, absorbing the water and making the pasta softer.
When the starch cools, those chains become closer again, forming a whole new crystal-like structure.
This gives the food far more “resistant starch,” which is great for our gut.
And yes, that does mean cooled potatoes and pasta are lower in calories and better for our microbiome.
