Chicken Curry (with Rice)

This is an easy, simple, healthy and mild curry recipe that the whole troop will talk about for months. Curries are fantastic for the last days on camp, because if you have any vegetable leftovers, they can all go into the pot with the curry. If you have vegetarians in your group, you can fry the chicken on the side.

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. 

Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!

Prep Work

• Cut the chicken into cubes and in a bowl, mix it with the curry paste, tomato puree and yogurt.
• Cut the bell peppers into pieces.
• Finely dice the garlic and ginger.
• Cut the onion into chunky pieces

Make the Curry

• Heat a large pot with a cup of olive oil.
• Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
• Add the chicken mixture with all the sauce and cook for 5 minutes. 
• Add the tins of tomatoes, bell peppers, coconut milk and chickpeas.Cook on low heat for up to one hour or until ready to serve, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn and adding a splash of water if needed.
• Season with curry powder, salt and pepper before serving.

Make the Rice

• Heat a pot of clean water until it’s boiling.
• Add a stock cube and the bags of rice.
• Boil for 15 minutes
• Drain well, then open the bags into a bowl and fluff up with a fork.
  

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 8 chicken breasts
• 2 onions
• 6 cm piece of ginger 
• 3 cloves of garlic 
• 3 tablespoons curry paste 
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree 
• 1 small yogurt 
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes 
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 2 tins of coconut milk
• 4 bell peppers
• (Optional: any other leftover vegetables, like broccoli, courgette, carrots, peas)
• 1 stock cube
• 1 kg of boil-in-the-bag rice
• You’ll also need: oil, salt, pepper, curry powder

Chili Con Carne

Chilli con carne basically means "Stew with meat". Of course you can make this without meat, too, if you're vegetarian. It's is a simple, one-pot meal that is nutritious and everybody loves.

For shorter camps, bivvying and hikes you can make this at home the day before, and freeze one portion per person in individual plastic bags. Bring it along frozen, then re-heat it in your Trangia. It will keep for up to 2 days!

Prep Work

• Chop the onions and garlic.
• Remove the seeds and chop the chillies.
• Dice the bell peppers.

Make the Chili

• Place a pot with a thumb high of oil over your fire.
• Add the onions and garlic. Fry them for a minute.
• Add the mince, and season it with a tea spoon of pepper, a table spoon of salt and two table spoons of paprika powder.
• Stir until the meat becomes brown and crumbly.
• Add the tomato puree, bell peppers, kidney beans and sweet corn, as well as the stock cube and 1 cup of water.
• Let the chili simmer (that means cook lightly over very low heat) for 30 minutes to an hour.

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 2 onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 fresh red chillies OR a tea spoon of chilli powder
• 500g of minced meat
• 1 tube of tomato puree OR 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 tin of red kidney beans
• 1 tin of sweet corn
• 1 stock cube
• 1 cup of water
• Paprika powder
• You will also need: oil, salt and pepper

Cowboy Dinner

We call tin foil pouches that are filled with potatoes, meat and veggies a "cowboy dinner". Cowboy dinners are perfect for a bivvy camp or moving camp, because you don’t have to bring a lot of gear. No pots, no pans, no clean up, and hardly any rubbish to take away with you. You don’t even have to peel the veg if you’re lazy and don't mind. The best thing is: everyone can make their own tin foil pouches and include only the ingredients they like.

Read all the steps and tips before you start. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going with a lot of hot embers, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!

Prep work

• Build a big, roaring, fire, then let it die down. Hard wood like beech make hotter and longer lasting coals than soft pine wood.
• You want to have a large bed of good embers, but no flames whatsoever. This can take up to an hour!
• Give all vegetables a rinse.
• Let everyone cut and peel their own veggies to their liking and make their own foil packs.
• Have an experienced scout show you how to make a good tin foil pack

Foil Packet Cooking Tips

 

• Double up the sheets of foil. You don’t want the foil to rip, or your food to burn, or your dinner leaking out
• Generously season with salt and pepper.
• Don’t make the packs bigger than your hand, and fill them with as much as fits in your hand.
• Adding some high moisture veggies (like tomatoes, bell peppers or onions), or a bit of oil, will prevent your food from burning and drying out.
• Fold the creases multiple times to seal tight.
• Mark your packs with a special fold so you can tell who's is who's.
• Cook the you foil packet on the embers, not the fire itself.
• Flip the packs over from time to time, but make sure to not puncture them.
• Cooking times will depend on the kind of food and how hot your fire is. Hard, raw vegetables like carrots or potatoes take longer.
• Open one sample pack after 15 minutes to check and poke a potato or carrot with a fork to see if they're soft yet.
• Open your pack carefully as it’s full of hot steam!
• Remember to leave no trace.

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

You decide what to include, but here is a classic combination:

• 1 bag of baby potatoes
• 4 carrots
• 2 bell peppers or tomatoes
• 16 rashers
• 2 onions
• You’ll also need: Salt, pepper, 2 rolls of tin foil

You can also include any other vegetables you feel like: mushrooms, tomatoes, courgette, broccoli, green beans, ... 
Also awesome in cowboy dinners: bacon pieces, sausages, feta cheese, ...

Guinness Stew (with Mashed Potatoes)

Stew is super-easy to prep and is the perfect hearty dinner for a rainy day on camp. Stew actually tastes best when it's made the night before, but at a minimum you need to let it cook on low heat for 4 hours for the meat to become tender - so plan your day accordingly. 

For shorter camps, bivvying and hikes you can make this at home the day before, freeze a portion in a plastic bag. Bring it along frozen, then re-heat it in your Trangia. It will keep for up to 2 days!

Some Irish families put the potatoes right into the stew (if you do, add a bit more stock), but it feels fancier with mashed potatoes on the side (also, it's fun to make mashed potatoes). 

Good to know: Beef comes at about 16€ per kg, which makes this recipe pretty pricey. 

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. 

Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!

Prep Work

• Boil 2 liters of water in a pot, then take from the heat and dissolve the stock cubes in it.
• Peel the onions and cut them into chunky pieces.
• Peel the carrots and parsnip and cut it into marshmallow-sized pieces.
• Cut the bottom part of the stem off all mushrooms and cut them into halves.
• Wash the celery, cut off the ends and cut the rest into thumb-long pieces.
• Dice the meat (marshmallow-sized cubes are good) if you bought a whole piece.

Cooking the Stew

• Heat a large pot with 2 cups of oil and add the onions. Cook them for a minute or two.
• Add the beef and fry it until it's brown on all sides (make sure there's a good fire going for this part).
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt and pepper the beef well.
• Add the Guinness all at once and stir. Let it cook for a minute or so.
  Add the thyme, and all the cut vegetables. Add enough stock to just about cover everything.
• Bring everything to a boil, but then you can reduce the heat (by letting the fire die down)
• Let the stew cook for at least four hours with a lid on. It should be simmering, which means not boiling, but maybe a few tiny bubbles are showing. Stir it once in awhile so nothing burns at the bottom.

Make the Mashed Potatoes

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters
• Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with water
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt
• Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes. You can check if they're done by sticking a fork in them. If it comes out easy, they're done.
• Strain the water from the potatoes.
• Add half of the milk, and then mash the potatoes well. Keep adding milk until the mash has the consistency you like (so don't add all the milk at once).
• Finally, add the chunk of butter and a dash of ground nutmeg and mix in well.

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 1 pint beer (Guinness or other stout)
• 1kg Diced beef
• 2 Large onions
• 8 Carrots
• 1 Stalk of celery
• 2 Parsnips
• 1 Box of mushrooms
• Stock cubes to make 2 liters of stock
• Fresh thyme (only if you can find it)
• 2kg potatoes
• 500ml milk
• A good chunk of butter, maybe 200g
• Nutmeg (if you’re feeling fancy)
• You’ll also need: Oil, salt, pepper
  

Penne Arrabbiata (“Angry Pasta” = Pasta in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)

This simple and delicious pasta sauce is a camp favorite with everyone, it’s cheap, and you don’t need a lot of ingredients. The dish is called "Arrabbiata", which means angry in Italian, because the sauce is a little spicy. Use wholegrain pasta so it's more nutritious!

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!

For the Sauce

• Chop onions and garlic, chop the chili.
• Cover the bottom of a big pot about a thumb high with oil, and heat it over the fire.
• Add the garlic and onions to the oil and fry for a minute or so until the onions become glassy and clear.
• Add the canned tomatoes, dried Arrabbiata herbs (or stock cube, or fresh herbs) and the chillies. 
• Cook the sauce over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is done. If it gets too thin, add a small cup of water.
• Taste the sauce: add salt and a teaspoon of sugar if needed.

For the Pasta

• Start heating a pot of clean water for the pasta.
• Add a few tablespoons of salt to the boiling water and add the pasta.
• Cook the pasta for 8 minutes (or as long as indicated on the bag).
• Strain the pasta through a colander and dump into the pot with the sauce. 
• Give everything a good stir.

Make the Sides and Serve

• Grate the cheese and serve in a bowl.
• A simple green salad goes really well with this dish if you want to make a side.
• Serve piping hot with with some grated cheese on the side or on top of everyone’s bowl.

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 1kg wholegrain “Penne” pasta (...if you’re very hungry - otherwise 700g will do)
• 3 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 3 onions
• 1 cup of dried Arrabiata herbs (Usually this is a mix of dried onions, chili, garlic, parsley, peppers and you can find it at most supermarkets in a glass. If you can't find it, replace with 1 stock cube or 1 bunch of mixed herbs, for example basil and oregano, chopped finely)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 1 bag of grated cheese
• You’ll also need: Oil, salt, pepper, sugar

Spaghetti Carbonara (with Peas)

Carbonara is a classic Italian white pasta sauce and really easy to make from scratch with just a handful of ingredients. Adding peas and using wholegrain pasta makes this dish more nutritious - which is important on camp!

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going and wash your hands.

Prep Work 

• Boil a big pot of water and add a small handful of salt
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream, a table spoon of salt and a table spoon of pepper
• Cut the rashers into small pieces
• Chop the mint finely
• Grate the Parmesan cheese.

Cooking the Pasta and Bacon

• Fry the rashers in a small pan
• Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the packet instructions. Set a timer!
• When the pasta is nearly done, add the peas for the last 30 seconds (they really don’t like being overcooked, they just need to thaw).
• Drain the pasta and peas through a colander and immediately put everything back into the pot (it’s ok if a few spoonfuls of water are left in the pot).
• Add the fried rashers and mint.

Finish the Carbonara Sauce

• Now add the egg and cream mix to the pasta. It’s important you add the sauce while the pasta is still piping hot. This way, the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs.
• Stir! The hot pasta will cook the eggs so it’s creamy and silky. It shouldn’t look like scrambled eggs.
• Add the grated cheese, and give it one more stir.
• Serve immediately!

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 1kg wholegrain pasta
• 2 eggs
• 200ml cream
• 24 rashers or streaky bacon
• 1 bag of frozen peas
• 1 big piece of parmesan cheese
• A few leaves of mint if you can find it
• You’ll also need: Oil, salt, pepper

Sausage Casserole (With Baked Potato)

If you’re making this super yummy and quick stew for dinner, a baked potato goes well with this dish. You could also serve it with a fried egg as a super luxurious Sunday breakfast.

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. Before you begin, make sure you have a good fire going, wash your hands and give all vegetables a rinse!

Baked Potatoes

• Wrap each potato individually in two layers of tin foil.
• Place them in the embers of your fire.
• Turn frequently.
• They will need about 30 minutes to cook through, depending on how big they are.

For the Casserole

• Chop onions and garlic.
• Chop the bell peppers and celery into coin-sized pieces.
• Open the cans of tomatoes and beans.
• Cover the bottom of a big pot about a thumb high with oil, and heat it over the fire.
• Add the garlic and onions to the oil and fry them for a minute.
• Add the canned tomatoes, beans, celery and bell peppers.
• Add the spices and ketchup (or sugar).
• Cook the casserole over low heat for about 15 minutes or until everyone’s ready to eat. If it gets too thick, add a few spoonfuls of water.

Make the Sausages and Serve

• Start heating a frying pan covered with a few table spoons of oil.
• Add the sausages to the pan, turning them constantly so they don’t burn. (You might have to fry the sausages in two batches.)
• When the sausages are golden brown and cooked thoroughly, add them to the casserole. Give the casserole a good stir.
• Taste the casserole before serving: add salt, pepper and a teaspoon of sugar if needed.

Shopping List for 8 Scouts

• 1 large potato per person
• 24 breakfast sausages
• 4 sticks of celery
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 red bell peppers
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cans of any kind of beans
• 2 onions (or one leek or one bunch of spring onions)
• 2 table spoons sugar (or ketchup)
• 1 table spoon cumin spice (if you have it)
• You’ll also need: oil, salt, pepper, tin foil

Sodabread

Making bread on fire is easier than you think and so delicious. Soda bread dough doesn't use yeast, so you don't have to kneed it or let it rise. It's a really quick recipe!

Read the entire recipe from start to finish. Trust us! You’ll be more familiar with the steps and cooking the dish will be a stroll in the park. Before you begin, make sure you have a good store fo fire wood, a good fire going. Wash your hands well!

Prepare the Fire

• Build a big, roaring, fire with plenty of hard wood (beech, oak, ash), then let it die down.
• You want to have a large bed of good embers, but no flames whatsoever. This can take up to an hour!
• Find a thick flat stone, a little bigger than the size of your hand, and clean it well with soap and water.
• Note: Don't use stones from rivers or lakes as they can blow up in a fire!
• Place the stone on top of embers, in the middle of the fire. Make sure it's stable and can get really hot where it is.

Make the Dough

•  Mix the flour, soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl
• Add the egg and buttermilk
• Mix lightly with a fork. Be careful to not overwork the dough: it just needs a quick stir to combine everything.
• Form pieces the size of a fist or tennis ball, and flatten them slightly. The traditional shape for soda bread on the griddle is triangles, but you can make round shapes, too, of course.
• If the small breads don't hold their shape, that means the dough is too wet - then add a bit more flour to the mix.

Bake the Breads

• Place the dough on your stone in the fire, and make sure there are enough hot embers all around the stone (but not touching the dough).
• Let the bread bake for 5 to 10 minutes. The top should start buckling upwards and it should be starting to turn brown on the bottom.
• Turn it around and flatten it out a bit.
• Let it bake for another 5-10 minutes.
• Before serving let it rest for a few minutes at the side of the fire.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of self-raising flour
• 2 tea spoons of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of buttermilk (you can make your own buttermilk by squeezing the juice of a lemon into a cup of normal milk and letting it sit there for 10 minutes)
• 1 tea spoon of salt
• 1 tea spoon of sugar
• If you like: butter and jam for serving