Bolivian Lamb and Corn Stew
Freeze-dried lamb, potato flakes, and corn built back into a thick highland stew in one pot.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 111
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 600 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
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried lamb | 2 oz | freeze-dried ground beef works if lamb is hard to find |
|---|---|---|
| Dried potato dices | 1/2 cup | not flakes, you want pieces that hold shape |
| Dried carrot | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1/4 cup | stands in for the corn cobs |
| Freeze-dried peas | 1/4 cup | |
| Instant white bean flakes | 1/4 cup | or 1/4 cup dried white beans soaked all day in a jar |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Ground black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cornstarch | 1 tbsp | packed separately in its own small bag |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Dump in everything except the cornstarch and the oil.
- Stir, cover, and hold it at a low simmer for 8 minutes. Stir once or twice so the potato does not weld to the bottom.
- Kill the heat and let it sit covered for 5 more minutes. The carrot and potato need the soak, not the flame.
- Mix the cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in your cup, then stir it into the pot. Put it back over low heat for one minute until it goes glossy and thick.
- Pour the oil over the top and stir it through.
The original simmers lamb for an hour and adds vegetables in stages as each one softens. On a stove burning fuel you carried in, that is not happening. Freeze-dried lamb and dried vegetables collapse the whole thing into one boil and one rest, and the staged additions stop mattering because everything rehydrates on roughly the same clock.
The cornstarch is the part worth keeping. Without it this is meat and vegetables floating in salty water. Slurried into cold water first and then stirred into the hot pot, it pulls the liquid into something that coats the spoon. Dumping the powder straight into boiling water gives you lumps and nothing else. The oil goes in last for calories, since freeze-dried lamb carries almost no fat.
Packing
Everything but the cornstarch and oil goes in one freezer bag at home. Cornstarch rides in a small bag of its own, because it has to hit cold water before it hits the pot. Oil in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- No cornstarch? Stir in a tablespoon of potato flakes instead. Different texture, same job.
- Freeze-dried chicken drops the cost and cuts about five minutes off the simmer.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/gjester/chairo-stew---gryterett-fra-bolivia