Beef and Couscous Camp Soup
Bouillon, dried vegetables, and couscous. Ready five minutes after the boil.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 6 min
- cook
- 4 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 540 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Couscous | 1/2 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Dried or freeze-dried tomatoes | 2 tbsp | diced small so they rehydrate fast |
| Dried shallots or onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried spinach | 1 tbsp | crushed flakes work fine |
| Cooked and dehydrated ground beef, freeze-dried beef, or beef-flavored TVP | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried garlic | 1 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1/8 tsp | |
| Low-sodium beef bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Shelf-stable grated parmesan | 1 tbsp | the green can, not the refrigerated kind |
Method
- Tip the vegetable and meat bag into your pot and add just enough cool water to cover. Leave it five minutes while you set up the stove.
- Pour in another 2 cups of water, bouillon and all, and bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the couscous. Keep it over a low flame for one minute, stirring so nothing sticks.
- Kill the heat, lid the pot, and wait five minutes.
- Stir, scatter the parmesan over the top, and eat.
The pre-soak is the whole reason this works. Dried tomato and onion need longer to soften than couscous needs to cook, so giving them five cold minutes before the boil means everything finishes at the same time instead of leaving you chewing leather in a bowl of mush.
Couscous never really cooks. It swells off the heat, which is why the stove goes out before the pot sits. That saves fuel and keeps the bottom from scorching. Note it is wheat, so this one is not gluten-free, and the parmesan is real dairy, shelf-stable or not.
Packing
Everything but the cheese goes in one sandwich bag. Cheese in its own small bag so it stays dry. Write "2 1/4 cups water" on the outside; you will not remember it at camp.
Variations
- Skip the beef and swap in vegetable bouillon for a meatless version.
- A packet of olive oil stirred in at the end adds 120 calories and keeps the couscous loose.
https://trailcooking.com/soups/beef-veggie-couscous-soup