This quickly became one of my favorite backpacking meals and has been my traditional first night meal for almost a decade. The fresh vegetables are a treat and the ingredients are fairly lightweight. It uses about the same amount of water as a freeze dried meal and the clean-up is easy, especially since you can use the paper towel you packed the mushrooms in to wipe out the pot. This pasta also pairs well with a pinot grigio if you’re up for packing in the extra weight! Makes one hearty serving.

This recipe requires a bit of at-home preparation, but isn't too involved and packs nicely.

Ingredients

• One box olive oil and Italian herb pasta
• Two to three mushrooms, thinly sliced
• Handful of baby spinach
• One packet of lemon pepper flavored tuna

At Home

Transfer the noodles and seasoning packet from the box into a Ziploc bag. You can put the tuna packet (unopened) in the same bag as well to keep the ingredients together. In a separate bag, put in a handful of spinach. Wrap the mushrooms in a paper towel and place them on top of the spinach (they will go into the pot first).

In Camp

Bring 14 ounces of water to a boil and add the noodles and the seasoning packet. You will likely need to turn the stove down a bit after adding these to keep it from boiling over depending on the size of your pot. Stir the contents frequently to prevent sticking and burning (especially if using titanium cookware) for five minutes, until the noodles begin to soften. At this time, it is more energy-efficient to simply turn the stove off and let the noodles rehydrate while sitting in the hot water rather than continuing to boil for the 12-14 minutes suggested on the package. Add the mushrooms at this time, wait for five minutes, and check to see if the noodles are soft and most of the water has been absorbed. If not, either wait a few more minutes or turn the stove back on for a bit to hurry things up even more. Add the spinach when the pasta is still too hot to comfortably eat, it only needs a minute or two to “cook”. Finally, add the tuna packet.

This is one option that always seems to work as a first night meal.

Options

Spicy red pepper flakes or ground pepper are good options for those wanting even more flavor. Parmesan cheese is also a great addition in winter to add a few more calories. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice is also a nice finishing touch for this meal.

Editor's Note: This recipe originally appeared in Issue 42 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.