One-Burner Boat Couscous
Couscous, tuna, and olive oil in a single pot. One boil, no simmer, nothing to spill.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 130
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 7 min
- total time
- 9 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
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Canister stove
- Canoe / raft
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant couscous | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Foil packet tuna | 5 oz | packed in oil if you can find it |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 2 tbsp | chopped small at home |
| Dried chickpeas, cooked and dehydrated, or chickpea flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle, not a glass cruet |
| Lemon powder or a squeeze packet | 1 tsp | |
| Bouillon powder | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper and dried oregano | 1/2 tsp each |
Method
- Bring 300 ml of water to a boil. Take it off the burner before it climbs the sides of the pot.
- Dump in the couscous, chickpeas, tomatoes, bouillon, pepper, and oregano. Stir once.
- Lid on, burner off, five minutes. Do not lift the lid to check.
- Fluff with the spoon, then fold in the tuna, oil, and lemon. Eat from the pot.
Couscous is the only grain that cooks with the stove already off. That matters when the burner is a single alcohol unit on a gimbal and the boat is moving — you want one boil, a lid, and no minutes spent hovering over an open flame. Steeping off-heat also means nothing scorches to the bottom of the pot, which is the difference between rinsing it and scrubbing it.
The fat and salt do the flavor work. Dry couscous alone is bland and drinks up whatever you give it, so the oil goes in at the end where it coats rather than boils off, and the bouillon seasons the water before the grain swells. Lemon powder replaces the fresh lemon this dish normally wants; it is sharper and less bright, but it keeps without a fridge.
Packing
Everything dry goes into one bag at home, tomatoes and all. The tuna packet and oil bottle ride separately so a leak stays contained.
Variations
- Swap the tuna for a foil packet of chicken or a handful of salami cubes.
- Leave out the tuna and double the chickpeas for a vegan version.
- A spoonful of harissa or curry powder in the dry mix changes the whole thing.
https://www.sailnet.com/threads/small-boat-cooking.6856