Dried Pea and Potato Mash
Split peas softened by residual heat, thickened with potato flakes. A stove-light dinner from staple-shelf parts.
- calories
- 700
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 29 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried split peas | 1/2 cup | quick-cooking green or yellow |
|---|---|---|
| Instant potato flakes | 3/4 cup | |
| Plant protein powder | 1 scoop, about 30 g | unflavored or plain; mixes into water without going greasy |
| Dried vegetable flakes | 2 tbsp | an Indian grocery sells these cheaper than outdoor stores |
| Processed cheese slices | 2 slices | the individually wrapped kind, no cooler needed |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil with the split peas and vegetable flakes in it.
- As soon as it boils, cut the heat, cover the pot, and let it sit for 20 minutes. The peas soften on stored heat instead of fuel.
- Stir in the potato flakes a handful at a time until the mash holds a spoon upright.
- Tear in the cheese, add the oil, and stir until both vanish. Salt and pepper last.
- Stir the protein powder in only after the pot is off the heat and cooling, or it will clump and turn stringy.
Split peas are cheap, dense, and light, and the packet directions asking for a long simmer are the only thing wrong with them. They do not need it. Bring them to a boil, kill the stove, and let the covered pot coast for twenty minutes. You get soft peas for roughly two minutes of fuel, which matters more than the peas themselves on a long carry.
Potato flakes turn the result from soup into food and take no cooking at all. The protein powder is here because meat, eggs, and beans are all heavier per gram of protein than a scoop of plant powder; add it off the heat so it dissolves instead of seizing. Processed cheese slices are the deliberate choice over real cheese — they sit in a pack for a week without a cooler and still deliver fat.
Packing
Peas, vegetable flakes, and potato flakes premixed in one bag. Protein powder in its own small bag — it goes in at a different time. Cheese and oil ride separately.
Variations
- Swap the potato flakes for dehydrated sweet potato if you want it sweeter. It costs more and runs higher in sugar.
- A foil packet of tuna instead of the protein powder, if you would rather carry the water than the powder.
- Couscous in place of the potato flakes gives about the same calories per gram, but drops the gluten-free tag.
https://teararoanobo.net/food