Trail Yumm Bowl
Rice, black beans, and a tangy sunflower-tahini sauce, layered in one pot.
- calories
- 680
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 250 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
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant brown rice | 1/4 cup | or white rice you cooked and dried yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Dried black beans | 1/4 cup | cooked and seasoned first, then dehydrated; canned beans dry fine |
| Yumm-style sauce | 2 tbsp | almond or sunflower base, double-bagged |
| Dried shredded sharp cheddar | 3 tbsp | |
| Dried pico de gallo | 2 tbsp | made with lime juice, not vinegar |
| Dried sliced black olives | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Bring 250 ml of water to a boil and add the rice. Simmer five or six minutes.
- Tip in the beans, pico, and olives. Simmer one more minute, then kill the stove.
- Scatter the cheese over the top and press it down under the water.
- Lid on, cozy or jacket over the pot, fifteen minutes. The beans need every one of them.
- Pour off any water still standing, stir in the sauce, and eat.
The whole dish is a home-dehydrator project, and there is no way around that. Rice can be bought instant, but the beans, salsa, and olives have to be dried yourself or bought freeze-dried in bulk. Dry the beans at medium heat for four to six hours. Cheese goes at 95F or lower, or it turns into a single orange disc; blot the oil off before bagging it.
The long covered soak is where this actually cooks. Dried beans and salsa rehydrate slowly, and the fifteen minutes off heat does more than any additional simmering would, without burning fuel. The sauce goes in cold at the very end because heat splits it. It is the one item that will not keep for a long trip — figure a few days out from a resupply, and skip it past that.
Packing
Rice in its own snack bag. Beans, pico, and olives share a pint bag since they all go in at the same moment. Cheese and sauce ride separately.
Variations
- A deli tub of guacamole carried on day one adds about 100 calories and does what an avocado would.
- A foil packet of chicken stirred in at the end pushes protein past 40 g.
https://thehikingtreeblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/gourmet-trail-recipes-yumm-bowl