Pickled Pepper Couscous
A jar of garden hot peppers, dried down to flakes and rebuilt in a cook pot.
- calories
- 730
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 16 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 280 ml cold
- 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
- Cold soak
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Thru-hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated hot pepper rings | 1/3 cup | jalapeno, banana, and cherry hots, seeds left in |
|---|---|---|
| Instant couscous | 3/4 cup | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Dried basil | 1 tsp | |
| Granulated garlic | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Powdered white vinegar | 2 tsp | sold as vinegar powder; a 1 oz dropper of vinegar also works |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | carried in a leakproof bottle |
Method
- Pour 280 ml of cold water into the jar or freezer bag with everything except the oil.
- Seal it and shake. Let it sit 30 minutes. The peppers take longer than the couscous, so give them the full half hour.
- Stir in the olive oil and squash any clumps against the side with a spoon.
- Eat straight from the bag. If it is still stiff, add 50 ml more water and wait five minutes.
The original is a canning recipe: pepper rings packed in jars with garlic, oregano, basil, oil, and a hot vinegar brine, flipped daily for a few days and eaten after a week. None of that travels. Brine is water and glass, and neither belongs in a pack.
So the brine gets taken apart and carried as parts. Dried pepper rings, the same herbs, salt, and vinegar powder go in with the couscous; water at camp puts the pickle back together while the grain swells. The oil goes in last and off the heat, because it coats the couscous and stops the whole thing from setting into a block. Vinegar powder is the piece worth sourcing — without acid this is just spicy starch.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag at home, peppers included. Oil rides separately, upright, in a side pocket.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna or a scoop of freeze-dried chickpeas turns it into a real dinner.
- Hot water instead of cold cuts the soak to five minutes on a cold night.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/canned-peppers-recipes.8375