Best way to reheat 2 lbs pasta without a microwave or boiling water?
January 21, 2015 11:13 AM Subscribe
I want to prepare some plain noodles ahead of time and then reheat them when I'm in a cabin with no microwave and no sink. I'll have two gas fire rings, a wood stove, and can bring whatever pots and pans are necessary.
Advice?
This will be at least two pounds of pasta -- I haven't decided what kind yet, possibly egg noodles or macaroni. The sauce will be a jar of whatever red sauce catches my eye. I plan on cooking it at home until it isn't quite done, rinsing it in cold water, and tossing it with a little olive oil.
I'd rather not reheat it in the sauce, as one of the people who'll be eating doesn't like sauce.
Keeping cleanup to a minimum is good (we won't have running water in the cabin, and have to heat any water we use).
I'd prefer not to have to have a big pot of boiling water, as there isn't a place to dump it out other than a plastic tub or outside, both of which sound awkward and risky.
The only method I can think of is in a skillet with some butter and/or oil, but it's going to be a lot of pasta to do that way. Any other thoughts?
This will be at least two pounds of pasta -- I haven't decided what kind yet, possibly egg noodles or macaroni. The sauce will be a jar of whatever red sauce catches my eye. I plan on cooking it at home until it isn't quite done, rinsing it in cold water, and tossing it with a little olive oil.
I'd rather not reheat it in the sauce, as one of the people who'll be eating doesn't like sauce.
Keeping cleanup to a minimum is good (we won't have running water in the cabin, and have to heat any water we use).
I'd prefer not to have to have a big pot of boiling water, as there isn't a place to dump it out other than a plastic tub or outside, both of which sound awkward and risky.
The only method I can think of is in a skillet with some butter and/or oil, but it's going to be a lot of pasta to do that way. Any other thoughts?
If you have a pot you could put a little bit of water in the bottom, and that should steam the rest, if you stir it frequently none if it should be over cooked.
posted by FallowKing at 11:20 AM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by FallowKing at 11:20 AM on January 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
Thinking back to the pre-microwave 1970s, when I wanted leftover spaghetti I would put about 1/2 inch of water in a pot, toss in the spaghetti, and give it a stir every couple of minutes until it was heated through. The small bit of water, which you can just keep in a bottle you fill ahead of time, will keep the bottom of the pan from scorching and the pasta from burning. Just make sure it doesn't boil off and you stir it often.
posted by bondcliff at 11:21 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 11:21 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Here's what I'd do. Heat one portion of the noodles in your pot with a little butter or oil + salt for the person who doesn't like sauce (and, if they like it, add some garlic, red pepper flakes, whatever). Then take that out and heat everything else up with the sauce. (You could also do this in two separate pans, but this way would minimize cleanup)
Another option is to prepare a pasta salad that doesn't need to be heated up.
posted by rainbowbrite at 11:22 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Another option is to prepare a pasta salad that doesn't need to be heated up.
posted by rainbowbrite at 11:22 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Can you put the cooked pasta in a ziplock baggie? Then put the baggie in a pot of boiling water? Make a baggie of sauce too. Because the only thing in the water is the baggie, you can use the water again, or just dump it outside after it cools.
posted by NoraCharles at 11:24 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by NoraCharles at 11:24 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Just heat them up in a pan. You could add a tablespoon or so of oil and sorta pan fry/saute them, or add a quarter-cup of water (to prevent sticking/burning) and just bring them up to temperature.
You'd probably want to fully cook the pasta, because you're really just heating the pasta up, not cooking it.
posted by Sara C. at 11:25 AM on January 21, 2015
You'd probably want to fully cook the pasta, because you're really just heating the pasta up, not cooking it.
posted by Sara C. at 11:25 AM on January 21, 2015
I guess I'm not really sure why you wouldn't just boil water and put the dry pasta in. That's by far the easiest way to do it. I did the same thing in a cabin last weekend.
If you can bring a pot with a colander that fits inside it, then it's dead easy... you put the colander in the pot, boil water, put the pasta in, then pull the colander out leaving the water in the pot. Then you go and eat while the water cools. After dinner, you can use the still-warm water for dishes (it'll have starch in it but it's still OK to wash with) or just dump it before heating up dishwater.
Alternately, if you don't have a colander like that, you can get a cheap strainer like this and instead of pouring the water+pasta from the pot through the strainer and into the sink like you'd do at home, instead you scoop the pasta out of the water with the strainer and into a serving vessel (or just into individual bowls, whatever). You leave the pot of water alone and don't move it.
If you do spaghetti and are cool with a few lost noodles, you can boil the pasta and just pull it out with tongs or a pasta spoon if you have one. Smaller noodles like macaroni require a slotted spoon or a strainer to scoop with.
This has the (to me major) benefit of not requiring you to halfway cook the noodles beforehand. The only reason I'd par-cook like that was if there was really limited amounts of heating fuel (like you're using a tiny camping stove or something). But if you have a gas rangetop to cook on, so that boiling water for 10-12 minutes isn't a problem, I think it's going to be better food and easier to bring dry pasta and boil it right there.
Pasta is a very standard camping meal for me and I'd never give it a second thought. Just don't mess with the pot of water until after the meal.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:31 AM on January 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
If you can bring a pot with a colander that fits inside it, then it's dead easy... you put the colander in the pot, boil water, put the pasta in, then pull the colander out leaving the water in the pot. Then you go and eat while the water cools. After dinner, you can use the still-warm water for dishes (it'll have starch in it but it's still OK to wash with) or just dump it before heating up dishwater.
Alternately, if you don't have a colander like that, you can get a cheap strainer like this and instead of pouring the water+pasta from the pot through the strainer and into the sink like you'd do at home, instead you scoop the pasta out of the water with the strainer and into a serving vessel (or just into individual bowls, whatever). You leave the pot of water alone and don't move it.
If you do spaghetti and are cool with a few lost noodles, you can boil the pasta and just pull it out with tongs or a pasta spoon if you have one. Smaller noodles like macaroni require a slotted spoon or a strainer to scoop with.
This has the (to me major) benefit of not requiring you to halfway cook the noodles beforehand. The only reason I'd par-cook like that was if there was really limited amounts of heating fuel (like you're using a tiny camping stove or something). But if you have a gas rangetop to cook on, so that boiling water for 10-12 minutes isn't a problem, I think it's going to be better food and easier to bring dry pasta and boil it right there.
Pasta is a very standard camping meal for me and I'd never give it a second thought. Just don't mess with the pot of water until after the meal.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:31 AM on January 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Yeah, I think I'll probably end up cooking it there -- fuel is not a problem -- I'm just checking to see if there's some magic trick I haven't thought of.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:58 AM on January 21, 2015
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:58 AM on January 21, 2015
Have you seen this? might be helpful given your requirements.
posted by Carillon at 1:19 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by Carillon at 1:19 PM on January 21, 2015
Steam is a lot simpler (and faster) than boiling a huge amount of water at the cabin. Bring the colander and a largish pot that can hold it. You only need about an inch of water in the bottom.
posted by O9scar at 1:33 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by O9scar at 1:33 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yep - read Carillion's link. Alton Brown has also come over to the "small volume of simmering water, stirred in the first 2 minutes" side, and if Kenji and Alton both say it, I take it as gospel.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:12 PM on January 21, 2015
posted by Lyn Never at 2:12 PM on January 21, 2015
Didn't I see the word sauce in the question? Heat the sauce. Add the pasta as the sauce is simmering. Hot pasta and sauce. Otherwise, put them in a pan with some water (like not a boiling pot of water, just a bit) and put the lid on to steam or stir fry with oil.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 2:27 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 2:27 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Unless you go with single portion servings in some kind of disposable container that does double duty as a bowl, I'm not seeing how you can do this without heating water. If you use a pan or skillet, you'll be wanting to clean it (plus any other dishes) and that's going to take water.
Having said that, I might look into finding plastic bags that will withstand hot water, precook the pasta and sauce, and make "individual servings" (ie, one or two bags have only noodles, the others have noodles + sauce). Or just a bag of noodle and a bag of sauce, everyone pours out what they want.
posted by doctor tough love at 3:19 PM on January 21, 2015
Having said that, I might look into finding plastic bags that will withstand hot water, precook the pasta and sauce, and make "individual servings" (ie, one or two bags have only noodles, the others have noodles + sauce). Or just a bag of noodle and a bag of sauce, everyone pours out what they want.
posted by doctor tough love at 3:19 PM on January 21, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
But basically, you have a way to heat a pan. You need to transfer the heat from the pan to the pasta, probably using some sort of liquid. Your options are a pretty much fat or water.
posted by straw at 11:18 AM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]