Manicotti in a Pot
Stuffed pasta tubes are a home oven job. This is the same beef, tomato, and cheese, rebuilt as one pot of noodles.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 18 min
- total time
- 23 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Small dry pasta | 6 oz | shells or penne; manicotti tubes are pointless when nothing gets stuffed |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 3 oz | or a foil pouch of shredded chicken |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Tomato powder | 1/3 cup | or a 3 oz tube of tomato paste |
| Dried spinach | 1/4 cup | flakes rehydrate in seconds |
| Parmesan | 1/3 cup | the shelf-stable grated kind in the green can |
| Mozzarella or provolone | 2 oz | low-moisture block, cubed |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | 1/4 tsp each | |
| Nutmeg | a pinch | sounds wrong, holds the cheese together |
Method
- Pour 700 ml of water into the pot with the beef, onion, and spinach. Bring it to a boil and let it sit one minute so the meat starts to soften.
- Add the pasta. Boil hard, stirring often, until the pasta is just done. Eight to ten minutes depending on shape and altitude.
- There should be a shallow layer of water left. If there is more, boil it off for a minute. If the pot is dry, add a splash.
- Off the heat, stir in the tomato powder, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. It will thicken into sauce as it sits.
- Add the oil, the parmesan, and the cubed cheese. Cover for two minutes, then stir until the cheese pulls through the whole pot.
Baked manicotti needs an oven, a piping bag, and an hour. None of that is happening at camp. What actually makes the dish work is the ratio: salty tomato, soft pasta, and enough cheese and fat to bind them. That survives the trip to one pot.
Ricotta and cottage cheese are the parts that cannot travel, so parmesan and a block of low-moisture mozzarella do their job instead. Cooking the pasta in a measured amount of water rather than draining it is the whole trick. The starch left behind is what turns tomato powder into sauce, so do not dump the water.
Packing
Everything dry except the cheese and oil goes into one bag: pasta, beef, onion, spinach, tomato powder, and the spices. The block cheese rides in its own bag and the oil in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Tomato paste in a tube instead of powder is heavier but tastes closer to a jarred sauce.
- Swap the beef for a foil packet of chicken added at the end, off the heat.
- Instant milk powder stirred in with the cheese makes it closer to the ricotta filling.
https://mealswithmaria.site/baked-manicotti