Root Cellar Stew
Dehydrated garden roots rebuilt in one pot. Cold storage food that fits in a pocket.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 12 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 600 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
- Liquid fuel
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Car camping
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated sweet potato | 1/3 cup | sliced thin before drying or it never rehydrates |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated carrot | 1/4 cup | |
| Dehydrated turnip | 2 tbsp | optional, it is the bitter note |
| Dried onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/3 cup | the thickener |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | |
| Red lentils | 1/4 cup | they cook in the same time as the roots |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried thyme and black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the sweet potato, carrot, turnip, onion, lentils, and bouillon.
- Simmer 12 minutes on a low flame. Stir now and then so the lentils do not weld to the bottom.
- Pull it off the heat. Stir in the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it holds a spoon.
- Add the oil, thyme, and pepper. Let it sit two minutes covered, then salt and eat.
Root vegetables are what a cellar is full of in February, and they are also what dries best. Sweet potato, carrot, onion, and turnip lose most of their weight as water and take it back in a pot of hot water. A pound of garden harvest ends up around two ounces in your pack.
The lentils are doing the protein work, and they happen to soften on the same schedule as thin-sliced roots, so it stays one pot and one boil. Potato flakes go in off the heat at the end. Add them early and you get glue instead of stew.
Packing
Everything dry except the oil goes in one bag. Keep the potato flakes in a small separate bag inside it so they go in last, after the roots are soft.
Variations
- Dehydrated winter squash in place of the sweet potato. Same cook time.
- A spoonful of tomato powder turns it darker and sharper.
- Add a foil packet of chicken at the end if you are not keeping it vegan.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/years-supply-of-foodmy-preserving-plan-2020