Americans have ruined cold pasta salad with mayonnaise, canned vegetables, and overnight refrigeration. True Italian pasta fredda has none of these things. It has olive oil. It has summer vegetables at their peak. It has fresh herbs torn at the last moment. And it is served at room temperature, when flavors actually taste like something.

The technique that separates Italian cold pasta from American is simple but essential: dress the pasta while it is still warm. Warm pasta absorbs oil. Warm pasta absorbs vinegar. Cold pasta sits there like a stone in a river, letting everything wash past. If you learn nothing else from this recipe, learn this: dress it warm.

This is a summer dish. Do not make it in February with those pale, cottony tomatoes that taste like refrigerated water. Wait for July. Wait for tomatoes that smell like tomatoes. Wait for basil you can smell from across the room. Then make this, and understand why Italian cooks have no interest in mayonnaise-drowned pasta with canned olives.