Leek and Potato Chowder
Freeze-dried leeks, potato flakes, and milk powder. A creamy pot soup that carries dry.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 24 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated leeks | 1/2 cup | or freeze-dried onion if leeks are hard to find |
|---|---|---|
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/2 cup | |
| Freeze-dried diced potatoes | 1/3 cup | keeps some chew in the bowl |
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | |
| Shelf-stable diced ham or summer sausage | 2 oz | a foil pouch of ham, or hard sausage cut at camp |
| Butter powder | 2 tbsp | ghee in a small jar also works |
| Sour cream powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Hard cheddar | 1 oz | optional, rides fine for several days |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil 600 ml of water. Dump in the leeks, diced potatoes, and bouillon.
- Simmer five minutes with the lid on. The leeks and potato dice need that time to take on water.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the milk powder and butter powder until no lumps float.
- Add the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it thickens to chowder, not paste.
- Stir in the ham and sour cream powder. Grate or crumble the cheddar over the top and let it sit two minutes.
- Pepper it and eat. Salt only after tasting, the bouillon and ham bring plenty.
The original is a stockpot recipe built on a stick of butter, a quart of half and half, and three-quarters of a cup of sour cream. None of that travels. Milk powder, butter powder, and sour cream powder do the same three jobs and weigh a few ounces. The tang of the sour cream matters more than you would expect, so do not skip it and expect the milk powder to cover.
Two kinds of potato are doing two different things. The flakes are the thickener, which is why they go in last and off the heat. The freeze-dried dice give it texture so it does not read as gravy. Add the flakes slowly. You can always thicken a thin soup, but you cannot thin one out without a second liter of water you probably hauled uphill.
Packing
Everything dry except the meat and cheese goes in one quart freezer bag. Sour cream powder clumps if it gets damp, so keep that bag sealed and dry. Ham pouch and cheese ride separately.
Variations
- Swap the ham for a foil packet of salmon or a handful of TVP.
- Leave out the meat, cheese, and dairy powders and use coconut milk powder for a vegan version.
- A pinch of dill or a few chive flakes goes a long way here.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/leek-soup.6453