Aliñar la pasta mientras está caliente da a la ensalada más sabor

Dressing the pasta while it's still hot is key to enhancing the flavor in every bite. Instead of rinsing and cooling the pasta while preparing the dressing, it's best to have it ready to pour over the freshly drained pasta.

There's nothing wrong with cooling the dishes before serving them, although there's no rule against eating the pasta hot. The crucial part comes before the temperature drops.

Pasta is a starch, and its cell walls swell with water during cooking. After boiling, it loses moisture as it cools through evaporation, so it's a good idea to have a liquid on hand to replace it and prevent the noodles from drying out. If that liquid adds flavor as well as moisture, the base of the dish will be more flavorful.

A soaked sponge serves as an analogy: when wrung out, it leaves room to absorb other ingredients. If you wait for the pasta to cool before adding the dressing, you lose the opportunity for it to absorb the dressing because the cell walls contract. Even so, the salad continues to develop flavor, and it's usually better on the second or third day because the pasta continues to absorb flavor even when cold.

When dressing warm pasta, don't skimp on the dressing. If you use the same amount as for cold pasta, the salad may look dry once it cools, because the pasta absorbs extra liquid. You can prepare a little extra dressing to add just before serving, or use some of the pasta water to thin it out, as the residual starch helps keep the mixture firm.

Pasta salads with mayonnaise require extra care. Mayonnaise tends to curdle at high temperatures because it contains egg yolk, so it's best to add the mayonnaise-based dressing to warm, not hot, pasta.