Recipe: Campfire Bucatini with Charred Tomato Sauce

From 'Out There: A Camper Cookbook.'

In general, I tend towards simplicity when it comes to camper meals—but Lee Kalpakis’s recent cookbook, Out There, introduced me to a whole world of cooking that utilizes open fire, cast iron pots, and simple methods that kick things to an entirely new level of summer cooking—like this bucatini, which begins with charring cherry tomatoes directly on the grate, perfect for car camping!

Never did I ever expect myself to absolutely fall in love with a pasta dish on the fire. Pasta seemed like a meal to be kept in the camper, but wow, that’s simply not true. The flavor that charring the tomatoes adds is unreal. It’s smoky in a way that tastes like bacon or pancetta. And the reheated left-overs somehow taste even smokier. This recipe calls for cooking the pasta straight in the sauce instead of boiling it in water. I know that can seem blasphemous, and not all pasta shapes will work for this recipe. For example, in my experience, orecchiette should always be boiled first because the little shapes tend to stack together, making it difficult to cook them evenly directly in sauce. However, bucatini is made for this method. The thick spaghetti-like pasta does an incredible job of sucking up all the flavors while cooking evenly and perfectly al dente. If you think pasta doesn’t have a place on the campfire, I urge you to make this recipe the next time you’re cooking outside.

You will need:

2 pints cherry tomatoes (about 1½ lb)
Olive oil for cooking
2 anchovy fillets in olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups water
2-inch cube Parmesan cheese, plus grated Parmesan for garnish
3 fresh basil sprigs, plus chopped leaves for garnish
1 package (1 lb) bucatini
2 tablespoons butter

How to make it:

1. Light your campfire and top with a grate.

2. Place the cherry tomatoes directly on the grate of your campfire, arranging them on just half of the grate. Allow them to char on one side and then turn them carefully with tongs to char on the second side. Place a Dutch oven next to the tomatoes as they char and let it reach medium-high heat. When the pot is hot,

   coat the bottom with oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the anchovies, garlic, and tomato paste. When the garlic just starts to brown on the edges, stir everything together with a wooden spoon and then add all the cherry tomatoes to the pot and stir again, bursting some tomatoes here and there. Allow the mixture to cook (it should be bubbling) until it shows signs of reduction, which should take about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Once the sauce has thickened, add the water, Parmesan cube, basil, and bucatini,

   cover the pot with its lid, and allow the pasta to cook in the sauce for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

4. Remove the lid, add the butter, and stir constantly until the pasta is al dente. This should take no more than 5–7 minutes. Garnish with the grated Parmesan, chopped basil, and a grind or two of pepper and serve immediately, directly from the pot.

Thank you, Lee! You can buy her cookbook Out There here!

Issue #103: A Complete Guide to (Solo) Car Camping