Cajun Shrimp Alfredo, Trail Version
Freeze-dried shrimp, linguine, and a powdered cream sauce built in the pot you boiled in.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, 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
| Linguine | 6 oz | snap it in half so it fits the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried shrimp | 1.5 oz | rehydrates to roughly half a pound |
| Cajun seasoning | 1 tbsp | split in two, half for the shrimp |
| Shelf-stable summer sausage or dried andouille | 3 oz | sliced thin at home |
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Grated parmesan | 1/3 cup | the dry shaker kind, not fresh |
| Dried bell pepper and onion flakes | 1/4 cup total | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Cornstarch | 1 tsp | thickener, stands in for cream cheese |
Method
- Cover the shrimp and the dried pepper and onion with 150 ml of cool water in a mug or spare bag. Add half the Cajun seasoning. Leave it 10 minutes while you set up the stove.
- Boil 550 ml of water. Add the linguine and cook it hard for 8 minutes, stirring so it does not weld to the bottom.
- Do not drain. Tip in the soaked shrimp and vegetables with their water, plus the sausage. Two minutes more on low heat.
- Kill the heat. Stir the milk powder, parmesan, cornstarch, and the rest of the Cajun seasoning together dry, then rain it into the pot while stirring. Lumps form if you dump it.
- Pour the oil over, stir, and let it stand two minutes off the stove. It thickens as it cools.
The original is a skillet dish leaning on heavy cream, cream cheese, and fresh shrimp, none of which survive a pack. Whole milk powder plus grated parmesan plus a teaspoon of cornstarch does the same job: fat, salt, and body. The starch already in the pasta water helps, which is why you never drain.
Freeze-dried shrimp is the one ingredient worth buying specially. It rehydrates in cool water in about ten minutes and does not turn to rubber the way a boiled retort pouch does. Soaking it in the Cajun seasoning means the spice ends up in the shrimp instead of only in the sauce.
Packing
Pasta in one bag. Shrimp and vegetable flakes in a second, since they get soaked separately. Milk powder, parmesan, cornstarch, and the remaining seasoning premixed in a third. Sausage stays whole in its casing until camp.
Variations
- Skip the sausage and the calorie count drops about 150 per serving. The sauce still holds.
- Instant rice instead of pasta cuts the cook time to five minutes and drops the gluten.
- A packet of tomato powder turns it toward a rosé sauce.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/easy-creamy-cajun-shrimp-pasta