Makes one dinner for two people.

At home:

  • 1 bunch silverbeet
  • 1 onion
  • about half a knob of garlic (= several cloves)
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil
  • ½ bunch of fresh parsley
  • black pepper, salt, ground nutmeg
  • cooking oil
  • optional: 1 red capsicum
  1. Fry thinly sliced onion, chopped garlic and, optionally, the chopped capsicum, in oil
  2. Add chopped herbs (add chopped stems first, then chopped leaves a few minutes later) and fry for a few minutes.
  3. De-stem the spinach, add the chopped leaves to frying pan, cook until spinach is dark and has shrunk considerably
  4. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste, and about ½ teaspoon of nutmeg. Fry a minute or two and remove from heat.
  5. Spread on mesh trays and put in dryer. In our dryer it takes about 6 hours. It dries to a very light weight.

When camping:

As well as the dehydrated spinach mixture, carry:

  • Pasta
  • McCormick parsley white sauce mix 30 gram packet, or McCormick herb and garlic sauce mix, available from Woollies
  • Powdered milk, about a heaped tablespoon
  • Pine nuts about 150 grams
  • Optional: processed parmesan cheese, the unrefrigerated kind, about 1 tablespoon
  1. Rehydrate the spinach mixture by soaking in hot or cold water; it is not a problem if you use too much water. Soak at least 25 minutes.
  2. Boil pasta, drain, reserving a cup of the water. Leave a little water in the billy with the pasta
  3. Return the pasta to heat. Stir the spinach mixture and pine nuts into the pasta, then the white sauce mix, bring back to the boil, and stir frequently. Only takes a minute or two.
  4. Add some of the reserved water if needed.
  5. Add powdered milk and parmesan. Stir well, and serve, garnished with pine nuts.