Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Pasta while backpacking

I've read several posts about eating pasta while backpacking. For those of you who do this, how do you prepare it? Do you cook it at home and then "reheat" it on the trail. Do you boil it for the first time on the trail? Let me know your tip/tricks please. Thanks!

Same as at home. Add dry pasta to as much boiling water as will fit in the pot. Then turn the stove down to a low simmer and cook for 8-15 minutes, depending on the pasta and the altitude, until al dente. Add cheese, clams, pesto, or whathaveyou.

Sometimes I turn off the stove and let it sit in hot water for several minutes to conserve fuel.

Fresh pasta cooks in just a few minutes but it's kind of a one night out sort of thing since it's so much heavier and also perishable.

Super lightweight fanatics tend to stick with couscous since it just requires rehydration. You can actually eat couscous without a stove (just soak it in cold water), but it's not very tasty that way.

Great, how about some of the boards easy recipes? Pasta is great on the trail. I have even frozen shrimp, sarimi crab and scallops to add to frozen alfredo sauce fot the first or second night. Killa...

I like some of the Lipton pasta sides then just mix in a package of crab or salmon or something.

i cook it the same as at home except i carry the pasta sauce in a small plastic container/bottle and not the glass it came in. i LOVE spaghetti on the trail and its cheap and easy and light weight. a perfect food if you ask me i also like to bring just a little chopped chicken to add to it as well. just a small amount though

Throw some dried tortellini into boiling water for 10 minutes, drain, mix with a good EVO, Parmesan and freshly ground pepper.

Oh yeah, don't forget a good bottle of red wine.

OMG, don't even get me started... I guess what it boils down to (hehehe, get it, 'boils'... ok moving on) is how many extra ounces you want to carry. If I'm only going out for 1-2 nights, carrying real food is a necessity (and by real, I mean not freeze dried. What IS the meat in Mountain House, anyway???)

I usually cook something the night before leaving, then freeze it, carry the dry pasta in another baggie, then cook the pasta in camp, adding the now defrosted goodies to warm up after the pasta is cooked. A fave from this past winter:

Moosie's Mango Sausage Pasta

1 1/2 handfuls of tri-colore rotini (snack-size zippie)

1 package Aidell's mango sausage, grilled to perfection and sliced
1 mango, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp diced garlic
1 tsp capers
2 1/2 cups Viognier (1 1/2 for the recipie, 1 for me)
Dashes to taste of salt/pepper/hot Hungarian paprika

Over Med-high heat, saute onions/garlic in EVOO until fragrant, adding capers after a few minutes. Add in chopped mango and viognier and reduce until sauce thickens a bit (you could also use a few hits of corn starch to thicken if you want more of a sauce). Toss in sausage and remove from heat. Allow yummis to cool, then transfer to double zippies and place in the freezer overnight.

Next night in camp, make noodles, drain water, then add yummis and stir over low heat to warm through. Done.

-L

PS: Don't forget the remaining bottle of wine, preferably transferred into a lighter bottle and rest to chill in lake or creek of choice until dinner is ready. Mmmm...

PPS: Or you could take the heavy bottle with you to beat all the greedy buggers off who didn't want to 'deal' with real food and are stuck with their bags of reconstituted goo...

When I do pasta, I want something that will cook quickly like angel hair vermicelli - as short as two-three minutes in a rolling boil. Don't be afraid to bring a ciabatta roll and make garlic bread.

Hi,

I have recently been experimenting with freezer bag cooking. It's convenient with my jetboil. There is a web site you can check out for some ideas freezerbagcooking.com

There may be a possibility of toxic contamination from heating food in plastic bags not designed for this purpose. In case you haven't carefully researched this issue (I have not), it's something to consider.