
When I made this sweet pepper pasta off the back of my teardrop camper, I was blown away with the quality of food I could make in such a simple camping setup. I’m fascinated by the idea of cooking simple gourmet meals while camping. Food tastes better outside—it just does. And when I stumbled across a recipe posted by jeepdad on the Camp-cook.com forum for Fettuccini with Sweet Peppers and Pine Nuts with Fried Mozzarella Cheese, I knew I had to try it.
Of course, I made a few tweaks—mostly because we needed it to be gluten-free and I was working with what we had in the camp box. What follows is his original idea, with my adaptations for outdoor cooking using a Camp Chef outdoor oven and my trusty Lodge cast iron skillet.
This is camping food at its finest.
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) balls fresh water-packed mozzarella, drained
Corn flour
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups crushed cornflakes
1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions:
In three bowls, place the flour, beaten egg, and crushed cornflakes.
Slice mozzarella into 1/3- to 1/2-inch thick rounds or sticks.
Coat slices in flour → egg → cornflakes.
Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Fry slices 2 minutes per side until golden brown.
Serve hot with dipping sauce.
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I added a boatload)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
Coarse salt to taste
Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté garlic and pepper flakes in olive oil for 2–3 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt. Simmer and stir occasionally until it thickens slightly.
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) package gluten-free corn pasta
1/3 cup olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, julienned
1 large orange bell pepper, julienned
1/2 cup chopped cashews
1/2 cup fresh parsley & basil, chopped
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved
Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions; keep warm.
In a hot cast iron skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic and bell peppers. Sauté 10 minutes.
Stir in cashews until golden.
Add herbs, then olives. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss with pasta and serve hot.
This meal was spectacular. We had leftovers for days, and honestly—I’d eat this at home, let alone while camping. The mix of sweet peppers, salty olives, and that crispy fried mozzarella? Unreal.
We love good food just as much as we love DIY trailers. That’s one of the reasons I build campers that make meals like this possible—strong enough to carry cast iron, coolers, and real ingredients.
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If you’re building your own rig, don’t forget the kitchen. Because a custom DIY camper build should include amazing meals.
Originally published on 06/12/10
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