So why on earth would you cook spaghetti, then dehydrate it? I clearly remember saying that a few years ago. Then I saw the amazing meals my brother-in-law was making in camp, in just minutes. So we gave it a try and would never do it any other way now. You make the sauce, cook the pasta and mix it up at home. Then you dehydrate the whole meal. When you get to camp you just add water. The pasta has had time to take on the flavours of the sauce, in camp you only need one burner and one pot and you definitely save on fuel.
This Portobello Curry recipe comes from the BackPack Gourmet cookbook by Linda Frederick Yaffe. I made it recently and wondered why I don’t make it at home more often. It is one of our favorites. Flavourful, spicy, and filling.
Serves 4 hungry campers.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 whole portobello mushrooms (1 pound), minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
15 ounces can white beans
1 cup stock (chicken or veggie)
2 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
12 ounces spaghetti, broken into thirds
At Home
Add olive oil to a large pot or frying pan with deep sides. Heat oil then add onion, mushrooms and garlic, cooking for about 10 minutes on medium heat. (I used a food processer once, but I actually prefer just cutting the pieces very small).
Add whole wheat flour and curry powder to the mushroom mix and stir for 2 minutes.
Add beans that have been rinsed and drained. Add stock and bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in yogurt, salt and red pepper flakes.
Add cooked and drained pasta.
Place it on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 145 degrees. Note: Your house will smell great at night, but not so much in the morning – curry in the morning just does not work.
In Camp
Dump the meal into a pot, cover with water, just above level of food in pot, boil and stir and serve.