Fire-Roasted Eggplant and Lentil Stew
Dried eggplant rehydrates into something with body. Lentils carry the rest.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 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
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried eggplant slices | 1 cup, crumbled | salt and dry at home, 135F until brittle |
|---|---|---|
| Red lentils | 1/2 cup | red only, they break down in 12 minutes |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/4 tsp | less than you think |
| Dried basil and mint | 1 tsp total | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Pour 600 ml of water into the pot with the eggplant, lentils, tomato powder, onion, and garlic. Stir once.
- Bring it to a boil, then drop to the lowest flame that still bubbles.
- Simmer 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes so the lentils do not weld to the bottom.
- Kill the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, herbs, salt, and oil. Lid on for two minutes, then eat.
Eggplant is mostly water, which makes it a bad trail vegetable and a good dehydrating candidate. Dried until brittle it weighs almost nothing, and it comes back spongy rather than mushy as long as it rehydrates alongside something that needs the same simmer time. Red lentils do. They collapse in about twelve minutes and turn the pot into a stew instead of vegetables sitting in water.
The cinnamon is doing structural work, not decoration. A quarter teaspoon reads as depth against the tomato; a full teaspoon reads as dessert. Add the oil off the heat so it coats rather than fries, and salt at the end because lentils that boil in salted water take longer to soften.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag. The oil rides in a dropper bottle. Eggplant crumbles small, so pack it last and do not crush the bag flat.
Variations
- A packet of shelf-stable salami or a foil pouch of chicken turns it into a heavier dinner.
- Swap the cinnamon and mint for cumin and smoked paprika if you want it less Mediterranean.
- Half a cup of instant couscous stirred in at the end thickens it, but that ends the gluten-free version.
https://www.pinchmeimeating.com/eggplant-recipes-dinner