camp meals

Roasted Squash Soup, Camp Version

Dehydrated squash and carrot, rebuilt into a thick orange soup in one pot.

calories
420
weight
3.2 oz
cal / oz
131
protein
8 g
serves
1, scales
prep
2 min
cook
10 min
total time
12 min
water
500 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
  • Liquid fuel
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • Winter / snow
  • Car camping
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Dehydrate ahead
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Butternut squash, roasted and dehydrated 3/4 cup dried roast at 400F with oil, then dry to brittle and grind coarse
Carrot, roasted and dehydrated 1/4 cup dried grind with the squash
Dried onion flakes 1 tbsp
Garlic powder 1 tsp stands in for the roasted head
Tomato powder 1 tbsp or a crushed sun-dried tomato half
Vegetable bouillon 1 cube or 2 tsp powder
Dried thyme 1 tsp
Olive oil 1 tbsp dropper bottle
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes a pinch optional
Dried basil a pinch optional

Method

  1. Boil 500 ml of water in the pot.
  2. Pull it off the flame and whisk in the whole dry bag with the spoon. Lumps break up faster while it is still very hot.
  3. Cover and let it sit five minutes. The ground vegetable powder needs the soak more than it needs the heat.
  4. Return to low flame for two minutes, stirring, until it thickens and stops tasting raw.
  5. Stir in the oil off the heat. Salt, pepper, chili flakes, basil.

The original is a sheet-pan soup: roast squash, carrots, onion, tomato, and a whole head of garlic, then blend with five cups of broth. None of that survives a pack. The roasting still matters, though, so it happens at home. Roast the vegetables the same way, blend them, spread the puree on dehydrator trays, and dry it to a leather. Ground down, that leather is the entire soup minus water.

Garlic powder replaces the roasted head, and tomato powder replaces the fresh tomato, because both were mostly there for depth rather than texture. The oil goes in last and off the heat: it is a third of the calories and the only thing keeping this from being a hot drink instead of a dinner.

Packing

Everything dry goes in one bag, ground fine at home. Oil rides separately in a leakproof bottle. A pint of powder rehydrates into a pot of soup, so pack by weight and ignore how small the bag looks.

Variations

  • A tablespoon of coconut milk powder in the dry mix makes it creamier without dairy.
  • Add instant potato flakes if you want it thick enough to eat with a tortilla.
  • Swap the vegetable bouillon for chicken bouillon if you are not keeping it vegan.

https://mealswithmaria.site/sheet-pan-butternut-squash-soup