The Jar Lunch: It’s like a bag lunch or a bento lunch, but the next big thing is lunch packed in a good ol’ mason jar. I have to microwave my lunch at work, so metal containers won’t work and heating up plastic has me worried. We often simply fill mason jars with leftovers, but sometimes it is fun to come up with a clever jar lunch and make a big batch. Lunch for the whole family is already packed.
This pasta was created for the sole purpose of trying to eat some of our preserved lemons. I would say both the lemons and the pasta were a success! I paired the preserved lemon with Moroccan olives, which are cured black olives.
Morrocan olives: cured black olives. If you don’t have these available, you can substitute Kalamata.
Preserved Lemon Pasta
Makes 8 generous servings
Ingredients:
1 (14.5 ounce) package whole grain pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 egg yolks
1 cup reserved pasta cooking water, divided
1/2 cup halved and pitted Moroccan olives
1/2 cup diced preserved lemon (pulp and peel)
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
4 ounces pecorino, shredded
Directions:
Cook the pasta al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving one cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and then add the olive oil. Once the oil has heated, add the onion. Sauté until translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the wine, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook until liquid has reduced by about half and appears slightly thickened.
In a small bowl whisk the egg yolks. Very slowly pour in 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water while whisking constantly. There should be no lumps. Add the egg mixture to the sauce, and continue to cook over low heat until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Toss the sauce with the noodles. Add as much additional reserved pasta cooking liquid as needed so the sauce easily coats the pasta. Add olives, preserved lemon, parsley, and pecorino and toss until well combined.
Enjoy!
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See our other Jar Lunches here.
krista and jess 