shain - Actually I just remembered that I have freeze-dried uncooked (sort of 'fresh') pasta not really 'mixed' with other ingredients (such as in a casserole form) - had forgotten that when my FD was new, I tried freeze-drying some uncooked perogies - and the actual FD'ing worked fine. There were other ingredients but they were only in the filling. Reconstituting was a little more difficult but I was very new to the process at the time so perhaps I would do better now. As I recall, the outer shell (the pasta equivalent part - though technically it may be a bit thicker than a true pasta rolled out - and is probably more a 'dough') got a bit mushy (with a few hard edges as well) by the time the liquid had penetrated sufficiently to rehydrate the filling. Edible but not what I would call a triumphant experiment. If I FD perogies again, I will definitely precook them.
Rehydrating a mixed dish that includes unfilled, precooked pasta in some form works great however. Chicken tetrazzini, chili mac or alfredo would be examples. If you want to test that, buy a freeze-dried dinner (there are some by Mountain House or maybe Backpack Camper I believe) that is usually designed for camping or prepping. I don't happen to like all the additives in those 'dinners' but the concept is proven there so part of what I wanted to do with my FD when I bought it was to make my own FD'd dinners without the additives (and/or just be able to freeze dry my own prepared meal leftovers). I would be surprised though if the pasta in the prepared dinners was originally 'fresh'. It is (usually) in smaller pieces (than one might use if freshly made at home) and will rehydrate covered in some kind of 'sauce' so perhaps it is a bit difficult to compare the 'quality' or 'taste' of the actual pasta part to a dish where ingredients are freeze-dried separately and combined after being rehydrated.
I will have to test FD'ing fresh pasta, cooked and uncooked, in and separately from other ingredients - with the exception of the filled stuff as noted above. I think there may be a texture disadvantage - a gumminess that may show up when rehydrating a fresh pasta alone from FD state - but I don't know for sure (and whether it is precooked or not may also make a difference). I am not sure I really see much advantage in using fresh vs dried in a mixed dinner to be honest. Pre-dried, off the shelf, pastas actually store well for many years if properly packaged so if there was any worry with the pasta not hydrating at the same rate as the rest of the ingredients, the best idea is usually to store and cook the pasta separately and then combine. However, for 'leftover meals' that is obviously not going to happen - and the pasta included will be precooked obviously.
You may also find some useful info on the subject if you visit the HarvestRight site - they have many video clips and suggestions about what you can successfully freeze-dry.
