Highland Trail Quinoa Spinach Soup
A thin quinoa soup thickened with dried vegetables, built for a cold October night in Algonquin.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 16 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Quinoa | 1/3 cup | rinse and dry it at home or it turns bitter |
|---|---|---|
| Dried spinach | 1/2 cup packed | dehydrated or freeze-dried, crushed small |
| Dried onion and garlic | 1 tbsp | |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 2 tsp powder | |
| Dried red pepper flakes or diced dried peppers | 1 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Black pepper and a pinch of salt | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the quinoa, bouillon, onion, garlic, and peppers.
- Simmer 12 minutes on the lowest flame that keeps it moving. Stir now and then so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Add the dried spinach. Two more minutes, then kill the heat.
- Cover and let it sit five minutes. The quinoa keeps swelling off the stove, which saves fuel.
- Stir in the oil, salt, and pepper. Eat it out of the pot.
Quinoa is the rare grain that cooks in a backcountry pot without a half hour of fuel. Twelve minutes of simmer plus five minutes covered gets it there, and the residual heat does the last of the work for free.
The original was a home version with fresh spinach. Dried spinach rehydrates in the broth in about two minutes and weighs a tenth of what the fresh leaves do. The oil goes in at the end because fat added to a boil mostly just films the pot; added off the heat it stays in the soup, where the calories are the point.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag, oil separate. Dehydrate the spinach at home in a single layer at 125°F until it crumbles; it packs down to almost nothing.
Variations
- Stir in 2 tbsp of powdered hummus or bean flakes at the end for body and another 6 g of protein.
- Bannock or a mini naan on the side turns the soup into a full dinner.
- A spoon of miso instead of the bouillon, added off the heat.
https://kyraonthego.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/backpacking-menu-3-night-fall-hiking-trip-along-the-highland-trail-of-algonquin-provincial-park