[1848] Error: This dependency was not found using the ~ shortcut in the express nuxt template

I am using the nuxt-express template and if I try to import a file with the ~ in the express server api files I get the error

This dependency was not found

So webpack (in this case backpack) is parsing the api files but for some reason will not replace the '~' the same way it would do for vue files

How can I tell webpack/backpack to replace the ~ with the sourcepath ?