Kai on the Fly – May/June 2010

with Aunty Rata

Ki Ora fellow trampers.

Of all the carbs you can base your dinner meal around pasta seems to slide down the most easily. This is my excuse for giving you another pasta recipe this month. I often make this recipe at home as well as in the hills because it is great when you need a quick feed after a spot of exercise. Pesto combined with lemon juice is an excellent dressing for pretty much anything containing vegetables.

If you want to bulk this recipe up add some cubed pumpkin, kumara or spuds but remember to add them at the same time as the pasta as they don’t taste great undercooked. Not a fan of parmesan? Feta works just as well. Sick of cheese? Add a tin of chickpeas, (rinse and drain them first), or some tofu. A few nuts or seeds or dried raisins would be ok. Do a taste test before adding salt as the dish is already quite salty.

Pesto Pasta (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

  • 120g pasta per person*
  • 2 tablespoons of sundried tomato pesto per person**
  • 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1arge handful of stuffed green olives (bit more for 6)
  • Large handful of sundried tomatoes (bit more for 6)
  • pkt dried vege
  • peppers
  • 2 carrots or 2 courgettes
  • 100-200g parmesan cheese
  • 100-200g salami or chorizo sausage#

*small macaroni elbows or rissoni are best

** I use Geonese sundried tomato pesto which is not really a pesto at all as it does not have any nuts in it.  Any pesto is ok,  it is not necessary to use a tomato flavoured one, you could make your own.

# if group is vegetarian 2x100g parmesan cheese or a tin of chickpeas or 250g of tofu cubed and no salami/chorizo

Method

  • If you are using salami or chorizo chop it up into bite size pieces and set aside.
  • Add a cup of cold water to a billy and place dried vege, sundried tomatoes in the water to rehydrate.
  • Chop up the fresh vege.
  • In another billy sauté fresh veges with a little water. Set aside.
  • Add more water to the first billy, enough for cooking the pasta. Bring to boil. Add pasta and cook. Add pesto, olives and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
  • When pasta is nearly done add vege mix from the other billy if it will fit, if it wont fit reheat briefly before serving.
  • Serve the contents of the billies (separately if there isn’t room to combine, punters can always mix the vege and pasta in their own bowls).
  • Pass round the parmesan and salami/chorizo for punters to sprinkle on top and mix in.

Next month it’s back to desserts.

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