Cooking over a campfire is one of the best ways to enjoy food. You can make almost anything on a campfire or portable stove, but if you want something fast, try out these recipes next time you’re under canvas.
1. Pie in a Pouch
Use any type of meat for this – beef works well – and whatever vegetables you have on hand. You can cook this on a rack over the fire or directly on hot coals. Spray a sheet of tinfoil with cooking oil and place the meat, vegetables, a diced potato and herbs/spices onto the foil. Wrap up and place on the rack or coals for about 15 minutes.
2. Eggs in a Hat
Use a slice of bread, one egg, a slice of cheese and a rasher of bacon for each person. Warm a pan up over a low heat and add plenty of vegetable oil or butter. Use a glass to cut a circle in the slice of bread, and toast it lightly on both sides in the pan. Crack an egg into the hole and cook until the egg white is solid, then flip over and add the cheese and bacon. Let the cheese melt and then serve.
3. Beef and Beans
Warm a pan or pot over the fire and add a tin of beef stew, a tin of sausages and beans, pepper and garlic powder. Stir everything together and add half a bottle of beer or stout, or a glass of red wine. Turn down the heat and let the stew simmer for a few minutes. Serve with crusty bread.
4. Cous-cous Camper
Cous-cous is one of the easiest things to make when camping as it just needs boiling water. Add the water to the cous-cous in a lidded container and set aside. In a pan over the fire, mix together any mixture of meat and vegetables, add the cous-cous and any seasoning, and serve with bread.
5. Orange Peel Pie
Peel an orange, keeping the peel whole in a dish shape. Half fill the orange peel with instant chocolate brownie or cookie mix and place into the fire. After about half an hour remove the orange peel containers from the fire and peel them away from the chocolate to get orange flavoured brownies. This dessert can cook while you’re eating your main course.
6. Fast Fish in Foil
Take a white fish fillet and brush lightly with oil or melted butter, then place on a square of tinfoil. Add some chopped onions, mushrooms, red pepper and broccoli and tightly wrap the foil into a parcel. Place on hot coals for about twenty minutes.
7. Mussel Pot
Use about 500 grams of washed and picked over mussels per person, discarding any that don’t open when tapped. Put a saucepan over a fire or stove and pour in a glass of white wine. Bring to the boil and add some finely chopped onion, then the mussels. Cover the saucepan and steam for about five minutes, shaking the pan halfway through.
Image: Flickr/rawmustard
