A note about Bramble & Spice Backpacking Recipes: These recipes are intended for one or two night backpacking trips. I like eating real food when I’m hiking and I’m always willing to carry a little extra weight in order to eat well. Everything really does taste better in the mountains.

This is the kind of recipe you’ll be glad you also packed in that can of red wine for. It comes together quickly and is rich and delicious.

After draining the pasta, it is important to be quick about adding the egg and cheese mixture. You need the residual heat from the pan and the hot pasta to cook the eggs. You’ll want to do this step with your stove off, as direct heat will be too much and will scramble your eggs.

Backpacking Pasta Carbonara

Serves 2

Ingredients weight: 1 lb 1 oz

Cooking gear required: pot, two bowls, eating utensils, spice container, egg holder

4 slices bacon

8 oz penne pasta

2 eggs

1 cup pecorino romano cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper

At home:

Heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add as many slices of bacon as will fit without crowding, and cook until dark and crispy, flipping the slices as needed. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep from burning. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate when done. Repeat until all of the bacon is cooked. When cool, slice into thin strips.

At camp:

Bring your pot of water to a boil, add pasta, and give it an initial stir. While the pasta is cooking, combine the eggs and most of the cheese in one of the bowls (save some cheese to top at the end). Use a spork, or other utensil, to break up the eggs and mix so that everything is cohesive.

When the pasta is cooked, drain as much of the water out as you can. Off heat, add the egg and cheese mixture to the pan and stir until the cheese is melted. Rinse out the bowl that contained the egg mixture. Stir in the bacon and season with salt and pepper. Divide into the two bowls and top with the remaining cheese.