What could be better than colorful corkscrew pasta tossed with salami, cheese, olives, veggies and a garlicky, herby, lemon dressing? This is, quite possibly, the best pasta salad you will ever eat. And it’s darn pretty to look at too. Pasta salad is great for all types of gatherings from weekday lunches pasta salad casual picnics and elegant bridal showers.

Indoors and out, it’s always a welcome addition to the table. A disappointing pasta salad can be bland or overly salty, a mess of greasy noodles and mediocre vegetables. But, with a few tips and tricks, you’ll be able to make flawless pasta salad every time. What’s the secret to making perfect pasta salad? Two keys to a great pasta salad are finding the right ratio of dressing to noodles and creating the right balance of add-ins. First, the dressing needs to be fabulous.

Rather than a quick marriage of olive oil and vinegar, create a dressing flavorful enough to stand on its own with tangy, sweet and aromatic nuances. In the recipe that follows, I’ve shared my ideal pasta salad dressing, a lemon-based vinaigrette that features honey, Dijon, garlic and herbs in proportions that work exceptionally well with the buttery and salty ingredients in the salad. Secondly, don’t skimp on the dressing. Finally, when it comes to the additions, the pasta takes a backseat to the intensity flavors of two types of cheese, salami, bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, black olives, parsley and basil. The result is colorful, chunky, salty, buttery, sweet and downright amazing.

How much pasta should I use in pasta salad? Classic pasta salad is made with rotini or spiral pasta, a shape that does a great job holding on to the dressing. When shopping, you’ll find that regular rotini is typically sold in 16-ounce packages, while many others, including tricolor, gluten-free and those made with brown rice, chickpeas or yellow peas are sold in 12-ounce packages. Since the preponderance of spiral pasta is sold in 12-ounce packages, that’s what my recipe calls for. If you choose a 16-ounce package, the ingredients list doesn’t change and you will likely still have enough dressing and you can always add a little more olive oil and lemon juice to taste.

For the mozzarella, you can use mozzarella pearls, or you can cube a block of fresh mozzarella. Is fresh mozzarella worth the hype? OK, but processed mozzarella isn’t as creamy or buttery as the fresh varieties. For the parmesan, freshly grated is preferable, because it’s flavor is nuttier and more robust. That said, if you already have pre-grated parmesan cheese handy, it will work just fine.

What are some easy pasta salad substitutions It’s easy to customize this Italian pasta salad to suit your needs. If you want to leave the salami out or substitute pepperoni or ham, please do. For a vegan salad, skip the meat and cheese and add more vegetables. For gluten-free salad, simply use gluten-free pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions in salted water.

Transfer the pasta to a large rimming baking sheet to cool for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. 4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the dressing and whisk to combine. Add the dressing to the pasta mixture and toss to coat.