Two-Burner Galley Couscous with Chickpeas
A van-kitchen dinner built on one burner, one pot, and nothing that needs a fridge.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 96
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 400 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Couscous | 1 1/2 cups | instant, not pearl, unless you want to wait |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or canned chickpeas | 1 cup drained | freeze-dried if weight matters, canned if the van is carrying it |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/3 cup | the dry-packed kind, chopped at home |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Bouillon | 2 cubes | |
| Dried garlic and oregano | 1 tsp each | |
| Lemon powder or a squeeze bottle of juice | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 400 ml of water to a boil with the bouillon, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. Let it run two minutes so the tomatoes soften.
- Add the chickpeas. If they are freeze-dried, give them three more minutes in the boil. If canned, thirty seconds is enough.
- Kill the heat. Dump in the couscous, stir once, and put the lid on.
- Wait five minutes. Do not lift the lid.
- Fork it apart, pour the oil over, and finish with lemon and pepper.
Couscous is the one starch that cooks without cooking. It swells off the heat, which means the burner runs for about two minutes total and the pot is off the flame while dinner finishes itself. In a van galley that matters less for fuel than for space: you get the stove back.
The sun-dried tomatoes and bouillon go into the water first because both need a boil to give anything up. The oil goes in last, off heat, so it coats the grains instead of frying into them. Skip it and you have a dry, salty pilaf with a third fewer calories.
Packing
Couscous, tomatoes, bouillon, and spices go in one bag. Oil in a leakproof bottle, upright, in a side pocket. Canned chickpeas ride in the van; freeze-dried go in the bag.
Variations
- A packet of tuna or a few slices of hard salami stirred in at the end pushes protein past 35 g and drops the vegan tag.
- Swap couscous for instant polenta to make it gluten-free. Use 600 ml of water and stir the whole time.
https://vanlifemag.de/westfalia-james-cook-2024-allrad-camper-mit-laengsdoppelbett