Wheat Berry Chili
Chewy wheat berries instead of ground beef, cooked in one pot over a fire.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 39
- protein
- 14 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- 300 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
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Wheat berries | 150 g | soaked overnight at home cuts the cook time in half |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Onion | 1 | keeps for days out of a cooler |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | |
| Ras el hanout | 1 tsp | |
| Chili flakes | to taste | |
| Honey | 1 tbsp | |
| Vegetable broth concentrate | enough for 300 ml | paste or bouillon, not boxed stock |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 400 g | |
| Canned corn | 140 g | drained |
| Canned kidney beans | 140 g | drained |
| Cherry tomatoes | 150 g | halved; sun-dried tomatoes work if it is hot out |
| Cilantro | 1 bunch | dried flakes are a fair swap |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Set a grate about 10 cm over the coals and let the pot heat for a few minutes. On a stove, just use medium.
- Chop the onion and garlic. Cook them in the oil until the onion goes soft and translucent.
- Stir in the wheat berries, ras el hanout, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Keep it moving for a minute so the spice hits the hot oil.
- Add the honey, then 300 ml of water with the broth concentrate stirred in, then the canned tomatoes. Bring it to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the wheat berries are chewy rather than hard. Add water if it goes dry.
- Fold in the beans, corn, and halved cherry tomatoes. Heat through for two minutes.
- Kill the heat, tear the cilantro over the top, and taste for salt.
Wheat berries do the job ground beef usually does in a chili: they hold their shape, chew back, and soak up the spice without turning to mush. They also cost almost nothing and keep forever in a bag, which is more than you can say for meat in a cooler.
The honey and the ras el hanout are what keep this from tasting like plain beans. A tablespoon of sweetness pulls the acid out of the canned tomatoes, and the spice blend covers ground that chili powder alone does not. Soak the wheat berries overnight before you leave and the pot time drops to something a campfire can handle without a long fuel burn.
Packing
Measure the wheat berries, spices, and bouillon into one bag at home. Cans and produce ride in the food bin. Soak the wheat berries overnight in a screw-top jar the night before you cook and drain them at camp.
Variations
- Run the finished chili through a dehydrator and it rehydrates in a bag on a backpacking trip.
- Vacuum-seal a portion cold and it holds a day for a hike-in lunch.
- Swap the wheat berries for pearl barley or farro; the timing barely changes.
https://petromax.de/blogs/rezepte-dutch-oven/weizenchili