Paprika Sausage Couscous Stew
Couscous, dried vegetables, and a cured sausage stick. Boil, cover, wait.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 3.7 oz
- cal / oz
- 146
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 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
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Couscous | 60 g | about 1/3 cup, durum |
|---|---|---|
| Dried vegetable mix | 2 tbsp | freeze-dried or home-dried, whatever rehydrates fast |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Beef bouillon powder | 1 tsp | a crushed cube works |
| Dried Italian herbs | 1 tsp | oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram, parsley |
| Cured sausage stick | 1 stick | BiFi, landjäger, or a dry chorizo |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | optional, for calories |
Method
- Boil 300 ml of water.
- Dump in the couscous, dried vegetables, paprika, bouillon, and herbs. Stir once.
- Slice the sausage in and stir again, or drop it in whole if you do not want to dirty a knife.
- Cover, kill the heat, and wait 5 to 10 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes so the bottom does not pack.
- Pour the oil over before eating.
Couscous is the fastest carb in a pack: it does not cook, it just swells. That means the stove only has to reach a boil once, which matters most on alcohol and Esbit where fuel is measured in minutes, not hours.
The cured sausage is doing two jobs. It carries the fat and salt that plain couscous has none of, and it renders a little into the water as it sits, which is what turns this from grain-in-broth into something with a coating. Bouillon and smoked paprika cover the rest. Dried vegetables need the full soak time to stop being crunchy, so do not cut the wait short.
Total dry weight is around 105 g. No dietary tag beyond nut-free applies here: the sausage is meat and the bouillon is beef, and couscous is wheat.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one zip bag at home. The sausage stays in its own wrapper so the grease stays off the couscous. Packed this way it keeps for months without refrigeration.
Variations
- Use 250 ml of water instead of 300 for a firmer pilaf rather than a stew.
- Swap paprika for cumin and chili powder, or curry powder, and the dish changes completely.
- Dried tomatoes or mushrooms add body the vegetable mix usually lacks.
- A vegetarian sausage or a handful of TVP replaces the meat without changing the method.
https://www.hikeforpurpose.com/trail-meal-paprika-bifi-couscous-stew