Blackened Shrimp Pesto Pasta
Freeze-dried shrimp, a pesto packet, and penne cooked in its own sauce water.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 14 min
- total time
- 19 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Canoe / raft
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried shrimp | 1 oz | about 1/2 cup, rehydrates to roughly 4 oz |
|---|---|---|
| Penne | 1 cup dry | or any short shape that cooks in 11 minutes |
| Pesto | 2 tbsp | single-serve squeeze packet, shelf-stable kind |
| Grated parmesan | 2 tbsp | the dry shaker cheese, not fresh |
| Whole milk powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Onion powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch |
Method
- Put the shrimp in your cup with 100 ml of cool water and leave it while you set up. Ten minutes is enough.
- Boil 600 ml in the pot. Add the penne and a pinch of the salt. Simmer 11 minutes, stirring so it does not weld to the bottom.
- Do not drain. Let the pasta finish absorbing until about a quarter inch of cloudy water is left. If you overshoot, add a splash back.
- Drain the shrimp, toss them with the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and remaining salt, and stir them into the pot off the heat.
- Add the milk powder, pesto, oil, and parmesan. Stir until the starchy water turns into sauce. Top with pepper flakes.
The pasta water is the sauce here. Draining it on the trail means a second pot and a wasted cup of hot water, so instead you cook the penne down until the starch is thick enough to hold fat. Milk powder and parmesan stand in for the cream, and they only work in that concentrated liquid.
The shrimp cannot go in the boil. Freeze-dried shrimp turns to rubber if it sits in hot water, so it soaks cold on the side and gets stirred in at the end. Blackening seasoning is just the four powders mixed at home; on a stove there is no dry sear to bloom them, so they season the sauce rather than crusting the shrimp. This one is not gluten-free or dairy-free.
Packing
Pasta in one bag, shrimp in another, spice blend and milk powder and cheese premixed in a third. The pesto packet and oil ride upright in a side pocket.
Variations
- Instant rice in place of the penne cuts the cook time to five minutes and makes it gluten-free.
- A foil packet of tuna replaces the shrimp for less money and less rehydrating.
- Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped at home, add acid the powdered sauce is missing.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/one-pan-blackened-shrimp-and-pesto-penne-pasta