Van Pantry Pasta
Pasta and red lentils in one pot, built entirely from a shelf on wheels.
- calories
- 700
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 14 min
- total time
- 16 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Small dried pasta | 6 oz | macaroni or small shells, nothing longer than the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Split red lentils | 1/3 cup | they break down in the same time the pasta cooks |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | sun-dried tomato pieces work if you can't find powder |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Granulated garlic | 1 tsp | |
| Dried oregano and basil | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | |
| Chili flakes | 1/2 tsp | optional |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil. Add the lentils, onion, and garlic and cook two minutes on their own.
- Add the pasta. Stir every minute or so, because there is not enough water to keep it from sticking.
- Cook about ten minutes, until the pasta is soft and most of the water is gone. If it dries out early, add a splash.
- Take it off the heat. Stir in the tomato powder, herbs, and oil. It will thicken as it sits.
- Salt hard at the end. Dried tomato needs more than you think.
This started as a campervan dinner, which means it assumed a cooler, a sink, and a jar of sauce. None of that travels well past a trailhead, so the sauce here is tomato powder and the protein is red lentils. Both weigh almost nothing and neither one needs to stay cold.
The lentils are the part doing the quiet work. They dissolve while the pasta cooks and thicken the leftover water into something that coats, so you never drain the pot and never lose the starch. Oil goes in off the heat, where it stays as fat instead of cooking into the pan.
Packing
Everything dry except the oil goes in one bag. The oil rides in a leakproof bottle, standing up.
Variations
- A foil pouch of tuna or a handful of soy curls stirred in at the end pushes protein past 35 g.
- Swap the tomato powder for a spoon of miso and skip the oregano for a different pot entirely.
https://www.imjustagirl16.co.uk/best-campervan-meals-to-make-that-arent-boring