Pasta with olive oil and ????

[Different Socks]

Please give me your ideas on what to add to have great simple pasta trail meals.

I have several already, but always looking for a fresh point of view or try ingredients I hadn't thought I would. Examples: different types of fruits, veggies, meats, spices, condiments, or even change the oil to a sauce. Thanks!!

[Thenixon]

Whatever other responses you get, don't forget Parmesan. It keeps well, has the salt you'll crave, and will improve whatever else you put on the pasta. I didn't stray far from a parmesean and pesto combo for my pasta meals, but then I'm a lackluster trail cook.

[oldbear]

Try using capers -which are dehydrateable
Rolled anchovies and capers
Pitted kalamata olives - rough dice
Any italian hard cheese - salty and will last forever
The judicous use of red pepper flakes
Chicken or fish in a pouch

[rocketsocks]

No thing beats fresh Garlic,you can barrow a razor blade from and "Super Ultra Lighter",(cause they don't carry knives)and slice it super thin so it liquefies in the pot.One of my favorite spices is Cumin,also fresh black pepper corns with lemon zest from an old rhine(Peel) found in a dumpster behind a restaurant.

[Wise Old Owl]

Try using capers -which are dehydrateable
Rolled anchovies and capers
Pitted kalamata olives - rough dice
Any italian hard cheese - salty and will last forever
The judicous use of red pepper flakes
Chicken or fish in a pouch

old bear comes thru! - yea take a second tray and red and green peppers and deydrate.... add the pepper flakes.... and a chicken retort pouch... yum.

[Samson]

Pepperoni and or summer sausage can be nice.

[Deadeye]

sardines, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms

[Odd Man Out]

Butter, Italian herbs, Parisian.

[Different Socks]

I've got pesto meals made. One night while making some hiking meals, i decided to try just olive oil with pasta and throw in whatever I had. It was awesome good!
For this next BIG hike in 2 years, I am trying many different things I thought I'd never eat on the trail. Ramen, instant taters, all my meat dried, capers, poppy seeds assorted nuts, various beans and much more.

[Different Socks]

Butter, Italian herbs, Parisian.

What is Parisian? And i think I've got italian herbs!

[Different Socks]

sardines, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms

Good one! Thanks!

[Different Socks]

No thing beats fresh Garlic,you can barrow a razor blade from and "Super Ultra Lighter",(cause they don't carry knives)and slice it super thin so it liquefies in the pot.One of my favorite spices is Cumin,also fresh black pepper corns with lemon zest from an old rhine(Peel) found in a dumpster behind a restaurant.

How much cumin? Do you add it during or after?

[Different Socks]

old bear comes thru! - yea take a second tray and red and green peppers and deydrate.... add the pepper flakes.... and a chicken retort pouch... yum.

a chicken retort pouch-what is that? Where would it be in the store?

[rocketsocks]

How much cumin? Do you add it during or after?

Towards the end so it doesn't become bitter,and to taste or in my case about 1/4 tsp.(thats the little one)per 1L pot of rice/noodles or about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of what have you.

[fudgefoot]

here's one I like: olive oil, fresh garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, salt

dehydrating store-bought sauces also works really well.

[Deadeye]

Butter, Italian herbs, Parisian.

I don't think a Parisian would go well with Pasta & Italian herbs. Might work OK with Persians, though.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


The garlic and grated hard cheese(s) would certainly wake up MY taste buds. You might also wish to consider using Italian dressing as well...or instead of.

[Hutch]

Peanut Butter and a little hot sauce, Stir it up !!!!

[Dogwood]

This is so EASY, for me. Add a pinch of fresh garlic(I often include a small clove on my hikes, garlic acts as an antisepetic, intestinal cleanser, insect repellant, also repels unwanted hiker hang-on wannabe types), Parmesan or other hard cheese(I can get dried packets of Parm free at Pizza Parlors), basil(fresh is best but goes bad FAST, dried basil will also do, parsley can also work but fresh is best and last longer trailside than fresh basil), red pepper flakes(also free at Pizza Parlors and Italian restaurants), sardines with skin and bones packed in oil for the higher cals per oz ratio (some sardines are packed in extra vrgin olive oil(EVOO) so you may not need to carry extra oil for the pasta OR you can opt for the sardines packed in cottonseed oil which will cost less than the sardines packed in EVOO), bits of chopped dried tomatos, pine nuts(yum yum, but if these are over your budget substitute fresh sunflower seeds in a pesto sauce.

Another direction I take the "pasta thing" is to go Asian. I add peanut butter(small packets of peanut butter are available(Justine's or Simply Peanut Butter brands come to mind, etc, I have found both brands sold rather inexpensively at Grocery Stores and Super Walmarts, as is also dried peanut butter so NO NEED to to carry large or HEAVY amounts of PB!), a dash of red curry powder(red pepper flakes can also work), dried coconut milk(found in Asian food stores or just about everywhere here in Hawaii where I live), sesame seeds, and perhaps a bit of fresh scallions(other onions can work too). This can be eaten cold too.


Another thing I do if I find myself getting into that pasta and oil rut is to mix pasta with grains, seeds, nuts or legumes(beans). You might try elbow pasta with dried lentil bean soup, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic, sunflower seeds, and EVOO.

Some things come to mind when I think about pasta eaten on trail.
1) balance out the "pasta" with healthy higher cals per oz ratio ingredients or foods(140 + cals per oz) to up the TOTAL overall cals per oz ratio for the meal! AND enliven the tastes with spices and herbs
2) opt for quicker to cook types of pastas such as smaller elbows, vermicelli, etc
3) NOT all pasta is made from wheat OR even the same type of wheat products! THIS IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED OR NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT! THIS ALSO RESULTS IN SOME MISTAKEN BELIEFS THAT CAN OCCUR WHEN SOME TYPES OF PASTAS WITH SOME POSSIBLE NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES FOR SOME PEOPLE ARE LUMPED IN WITH ALL TYPES OF PASTAS! "Pasta" can be made with various types of grains, flours, and wheat products, such as: Quinoa(VERY nutritious!), rice, red lentil bean flour, buckwheat, corn, etc

[Different Socks]

Peanut Butter and a little hot sauce, Stir it up !!!!

Being a PB lover, this sounds interesting. How do you add the PB to the pasta?