The key to a great, well-balanced pasta salad therefore isn't what you mix in, but in how much pasta you use. For Ina Garten, the best pasta salad leans less on the noodles and more on the salad.

Pasta e fagioli (pronounced “pasta fah-joh-lee”) is Italian comfort food at its finest. Translating to “pasta and beans,” it’s a hearty, rustic soup made with ditalini (a small, tube-shaped pasta), ...