I don’t know about you, but after a long day on the trail, I crave some serious carbs. Pasta is nice in the sense that it is shelf stable, but sauces can be a little tricky, especially if you want to incorporate protein. I was looking for something that not only had some protein, but a little bit of fat and salt as well. Hence peas, Parmesan, and cream! Now I know you might be thinking that cream is sold in the refrigerated aisle, but I had a bit of a lightbulb moment at a diner one day when I noticed the little half-and-half containers didn’t need refrigeration. Thus the base idea for this recipe was born. Sundried tomatoes, Parmesan, and fresh peas are all shelf stable for a few days. If you grate your own Parmesan (which I highly recommend), it may clump, but I promise it will all melt away into liquid gold once it starts cooking.

For noodles, you can definitely start with dried to save weight, but if you want to save time Barilla has a line of pasta called Ready Pasta that really only requires a toss with some olive oil/sauce and a little heat.

Now, I’m sure I’ll eventually find better options for some of these, but for now I pack all my spices in a Spice Missile and my olive oil in a small nalgene bottle. My typical spices that I carry at all times are: salt, pepper, chili flakes, and Tony Chachere’s Original Seasoning (which is good on just about everything. I cooked this using a JetBoil MinoMo and a GSI Glacier Skillet. See the setup below: