Delicious Vegetarian Campfire Recipes

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is so easy to prepare, and with just four main ingredients (five including the toast!) it comes together in a matter of minutes. This is great for a quick snack or if you have a few hungry ‘grazers’ milling about the tent in search of sustenance.

The beauty of using fresh ingredients means that refrigeration and storage is not a problem on the campsite.  Using foraged mushrooms would be great if you can find them (and you’re sure what you’re eating), otherwise I usually use the brown chestnut mushrooms, which seem to pack more flavour than their white cousins.

Ingredients

• 100g Mushrooms (chopped)
• 8-10 Cherry tomatoes (quartered or halved depending on the size)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• A sprig of fresh thyme
• A little olive oil
• French bread for toasting

Method

1. Slice the French bread into rounds for toasting.  I always do this first as the toaster on my camping grill takes a little while to get going.  You can prepare the bruschetta while you are toasting the bread.
2. Chop the mushrooms - remember that you’ll be serving on small bits of toast so you want the pieces fairly small, otherwise they’ll just fall off and stain your shirt!
3. Warm a little olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped garlic and cook it for a minute or two until it just begins to change colour.
4. Next add the chopped mushrooms and stir - they will soak up all of the garlicky olive oil.
5. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and the sprig of thyme.
6. Simmer gently for about three or four minutes.
7. Add a grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt to taste.
8. Once the tomatoes have wilted, but not totally lost their shape, spoon onto the toasted bread and serve warm or cold to your liking.

Shakshuka

Shakshuka recipes appear to be highly popular at the moment, and while variations abound, I like to keep things relatively simple with this version described to me by my younger brother, who in turn learned it from an Israeli hitchhiker he met while cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End.  It’s a perfect camping breakfast or brunch as none of the ingredients need keeping cool.

Ingredients

• 1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 Onion (finely chopped)
• 1 Red pepper (de-seeded and sliced lengthwise)
• 4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• A little olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of paprika
• Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
• A handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Gently fry the chopped onion in the olive oil.
2. When the onion begins to take on some colour, throw in the chopped garlic, the red pepper and the paprika, stir well and simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, season well and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce.
4. When the tomato sauce has reduced by about a third, turn down the heat and crack in the eggs and cook for a further five minutes or until the eggs have turned white.
5. Sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley and serve with chunky bread.