Bowtie pasta, kale, tomato and mozzarella come together in a mason jar for a fun, portable and vegetarian lunch.
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ingredients
For the pasta and pine nuts
For the dressing
For the kale
Assembly
directions
Special equipment: 4 quart-size mason jars and 1 pint-size mason jar
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and add to a bowl. Set aside.
Add the pine nuts to a small skillet over low heat. Toast slowly over the course of 3 to 4 minutes, tossing regularly. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic over low heat so that the garlic slowly infuses the oil, about a minute. When the garlic begins to sizzle, stir it around so it doesn’t get too brown. When the garlic starts to turn golden, add the salt and pepper and stir; set aside for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, pour the oil mixture (scraping out the salt, pepper and garlic) into a small mason jar. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, basil and parsley, put the lid on and shake it.
Finely slice 1 bunch of the kale. Set the same skillet (without cleaning it) over medium-high heat. Add the sliced kale and cook until partly wilted, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then add the Parmesan shavings and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
Finely slice the remaining ½ bunch kale and set aside.
Start by pouring ¼ cup dressing into each quart-size mason jar, followed by ¾ cup cherry tomatoes, 1 ¼ cups pasta, 1 tablespoon pine nuts, ½ cup cooked kale with Parmesan, 8 to 9 mozzarella balls and, finally, ½cup sliced raw kale. Put the lids on the jars and refrigerate until ready to eat.