Moroccan Spiced Lamb and Couscous
Freeze-dried lamb, a spice blend, and couscous that cooks with the burner off.
- calories
- 700
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 300 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
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Couscous | 1 cup | instant, the only grain that cooks off residual heat |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken stock cube | 1 cube | crumbled |
| Freeze-dried ground lamb or beef | 2 oz | freeze-dried ground beef is easier to find |
| Moroccan spice blend | 1 tbsp | ras el hanout works, or cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika |
| Dried mint | 1 tsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried red bell pepper | 2 tbsp | the sweet kind, not chile flake |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Put the freeze-dried lamb, onion, and bell pepper in the pot with 300 ml of water. Bring it to a boil and hold it there two minutes so the meat rehydrates.
- Stir in the spice blend, the crumbled stock cube, the mint, and the oil.
- Kill the heat, dump in the couscous, and stir once. Lid on.
- Wait five minutes. Do not lift the lid, do not relight the stove.
- Fork it apart, taste, and add salt and pepper.
The original is a fry-pan dish: raw mince rolled into meatballs, seared alongside sliced capsicum, spooned over couscous. None of that survives a trail kitchen. Raw lamb needs a cooler, meatballs need a pan you are not carrying, and fresh mint wilts by day two. So the meat becomes freeze-dried ground lamb, the capsicum becomes dried bell pepper, and both rehydrate in the same water the couscous will use.
Couscous is the reason this fits in one pot. It does not need a boil, only water hot enough and five minutes of standing. That means fuel goes entirely to rehydrating the meat and vegetables, and the grain rides the leftover heat. Add the dried mint early, with the water, not at the end — dried herb needs the steam to open up. The oil is not optional; couscous and lean freeze-dried meat are both nearly fat-free, and without it this is a lot of chewing for not many calories.
Packing
Couscous, stock cube, spices, mint, and dried vegetables go in one bag. The freeze-dried meat rides in its own bag because it draws moisture. Oil in a bottle, always separate.
Variations
- A packet of shelf-stable tuna or chicken in place of the lamb cuts cost and weight.
- A lemon-pepper shake or a wedge of lemon at camp brightens it the way yoghurt would.
- Skip the meat and stock cube, add a handful of dried chickpeas soaked since lunch, and it goes vegan.
https://www.advrider.com/moroccan-lamb-meatballs