Pesto Salmon Tortellini
Dried tortellini, a pouch of salmon, and a creamy pesto sauce built from powder.
- calories
- 790
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 350 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried spinach and cheese tortellini | 3/4 cup | check the box for a short cook time |
|---|---|---|
| Pouch salmon | 3.5 to 5 oz | smoked, pink, or sockeye |
| Dry creamy pesto sauce mix | 1/2 packet | or 2 tbsp concentrated pesto paste |
| Whole milk powder | 1 1/2 tbsp heaping | skip if using pesto paste and you want it thinner |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | leakproof screw-top bottle or two packets |
| Pine nuts | 1 to 2 tbsp |
Method
- Dump the tortellini, sauce mix, and milk powder into the pot. Pour in water until it just covers the pasta, roughly 350 ml.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold a simmer for one to two minutes.
- Cut the heat, lid it, and wait five to ten minutes. The pasta finishes on residual heat instead of fuel.
- Stir in the olive oil. If you brought pesto paste instead of the dry mix, it goes in here.
- Flake the salmon in, scatter the pine nuts, and stir once.
Dried tortellini is the one filled pasta that survives a pack, and it carries more protein per ounce than plain noodles. The original called for fresh spinach, which does not make it past day one, so the spinach here lives inside the pasta. Milk powder plus the dry sauce mix gives you a cream sauce without carrying anything that needs a fridge.
Cook time is the thing to watch. Use just enough water to cover the pasta so there is nothing to drain, then kill the stove early and let the lid do the rest. Boiling tortellini hard will split the seams and leave you with cheese in the broth.
Packing
Tortellini, sauce mix, and milk powder ride together in one freezer bag. Oil goes in its own screw-top bottle, well away from your down. Pine nuts in a small bag tucked inside the pot so they do not get crushed.
Variations
- Pouch chicken instead of salmon if you do not want fish at the end of a long day.
- Angel hair pasta works and cooks faster, though it does not hold sauce as well.
- A tablespoon of grated parmesan melts in at the end.
https://thehikingtreeblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/gourmet-trail-recipes-pesto-salmon-tortellini