Serves: 6

This is my adaptation of a Jamie Oliver recipe. The original calls for pork sausage, I’ve substituted veggie ground round since it dehydrates well. You could also use lean ground beef, just cook it separately and give it a good rinse in hot water to remove excess fat before adding it to the sauce. The fennel seeds and balsamic vinegar used in this recipe give it a unique flavor.

Ingredients

4 green onions

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1-2 fresh red chillies

400g veggie ground (I use Yves Meatless Ground Round Italian Style)

1 rounded tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried oregano

500g dried spaghetti

4 cloves of garlic

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 x 400ml can of diced tomatoes

A few sprigs of Greek basil, or regular basil

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Trim the spring onions, carrot and celery. Roughly chop all the vegetables, then process in a food processor with the chillies (stalks removed). Add a heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds and one teaspoon of oregano. Process for a few seconds until blended.

In a large pot, combine the vegetable mixture with the veggie ground round, crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar and tomatoes. Heat the sauce and simmer for a few minutes. Finely chop the basil and add to the sauce. Stir well.

Break the spaghetti into thirds and cook to al dente in a separate pot. After straining, dump the pasta into the sauce pot and stir well. Add the grated Parmesan a bit at a time while stirring to distribute everything evenly.

Dehydrating

Measure out your preferred serving size (I use 2 cup servings) and spread out on your dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 145°f for about 12 hours, flipping the food at the halfway mark. When the pasta is dry, package it up into individual servings. Put the packages in the freezer for long term storage.

In Camp

Add your pasta to a pot with enough water to cover the food by about ½ inch. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, or if you’re using a cozy, place the pot in the cozy for 20 minutes. Stir in some olive oil before eating.