Pesto Pasta with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Bow ties, pesto from a tube, and feta that rides in its own brine pouch. Eaten warm or cool.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 900 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bow tie pasta | 8 oz | small shapes drain and stir easier than long noodles |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable pesto | 1/3 cup | tube or small jar; check the label if you need it nut-free |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/3 cup | dry-packed, snipped into strips |
| Feta | 3/4 cup crumbled | vacuum or brine pouch, no refrigeration until opened |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil about 900 ml of water with a good pinch of salt. Add the pasta and the sun-dried tomato strips together.
- Cook 9 to 10 minutes, stirring so nothing welds to the bottom. The tomatoes rehydrate in the same water.
- Drain carefully, keeping a few tablespoons of the water in the pot.
- Off the heat, stir in the pesto until every piece is coated. The reserved water helps it spread.
- Crumble in the feta, add the oil, and season. Eat hot or let it sit and eat it cool.
The original is a garden dish: fresh basil pesto, cherry tomatoes off the vine, feta from the fridge. Two of those three do not travel. Cherry tomatoes turn to pulp in a pack, so dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes go in instead and rehydrate in the pasta water on the way to done. That saves a step and gives the water some flavor.
Feta is the one dairy that earns its place out here. Sealed brine or vacuum pouches sit at ambient temperature for weeks, and the cheese is salty enough that a small amount reads as a lot. Pesto from a tube handles the fat and the seasoning at once. Drain the pasta rather than cooking it dry, or the pesto has nothing to hold onto.
Packing
Pasta and tomatoes go in one bag. Pesto and feta stay sealed in their own packaging until camp, and the feta pouch gets bagged again for the pack-out.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken turns it into a bigger dinner.
- Dried olives or capers if you want it sharper.
- Skip the feta and it goes vegan, assuming the pesto is cheese-free.
https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-pasta-with-pesto-feta-cherry-tomatoes-july-cookbook-of-the-month-review