Caravan Cook: Winter Warmers

By Lynn Bain

With the colder months well and truly upon us, depending where you are it is definitely time for some cold weather recipes. So much so that this is part one of a two-part series on foods to make us warm and cosy.

One thing that strikes me about winter foods is that there is a certain amount of comfort factor built in. Technically, you could have a cup of hot water and feel warm but where is the comfort in that?

So, the following recipes are designed to provide some gastronomic nurturing.

Beef Pot Roast

Pot roasts are ideal camp oven food but are just as delicious cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. The secret is long slow cooking which could tenderise even a rubber thong.

1-2kg piece of beef (choose from bolar blade, topside or brisket)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

½ tablespoon dried oregano or a good squeeze of Gourmet Garden oregano paste

1 cup red wine (or water)

2 cups water

Add all of the ingredients to a suitably sized pot, then cover and place in the coals, on the stove or in the oven.

Cook very slowly for a couple of hours depending on the size of your roast. At the end of the cooking time, remove the pot roast from the liquid and set to one side.

Increase the heat under the pot and reduce the liquid in the pan until it is a gravy-like consistency. Slice the pot roast and return to the gravy to heat through.

Serve the Pot Roast with a generous helping of Spaetzels (see next recipe) and a hearty appetite.

Spaetzels

Spaetzels are wonderful served as a side dish to a beautifully rich Pot Roast. They are like free form dumplings which are then fried with onion.

They are very easy to make and taste great mixed with the gravy from the Pot Roast. They are a firm family favourite at my house.

1½ cups plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

½ cup water

1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped

Bring a pot of water to the boil while you prepare the Spaetzels. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat together the eggs and water. Now beat the two mixtures together until the batter is elastic.

Reduce the water to a simmer. Campfire cookers will need to move their cooking pot to a cooler part of the coals. To make the Spaetzels, plop spoonfuls of the batter into the simmering water. When they float to the surface, remove them with a spoon and place to one side. Continue until all the batter is used.

In a frypan, heat the butter or oil and add the chopped onions. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes before adding the Spaetzels to the pan and continuing to cook for a further five minutes.

Chicken and Hot Biscuits

This is another of the family cold weather favourites. The hot biscuits are very similar in texture to scones and have the bonus of being able to be used as a very absorbent ‘plate wiper’ for the delicious chicken gravy.

I like to use leeks if I have any but an onion can be substituted if you are leekless.

I also like to add some herbs, either fresh or dried, to my Hot Biscuits to add another dimension to the meal.

Try adding chopped chives, a little crushed garlic, a sprinkle of chilli flakes, oregano, thyme or parsley to the dough. Not all at once, of course.

It’s not the traditional Hot Biscuit recipe but it works well in a camping situation and has the texture that I am after.

2-3 chicken pieces per person

2 leeks, white part only, washed and finely sliced

1 carrot, cut into small chunks

2 sticks celery, finely sliced

2 cups low salt chicken stock

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes or a handful chopped fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, casserole dish or camp oven, add all of the ingredients. Cover and cook over a low to medium heat for about an hour or until the chicken is well cooked.

Remove the chicken from the liquid and place in a container in a cool place while you thicken the gravy.

Thicken the liquid in the pot with a little cornflour or flour mixed with some water. When the liquid has a gravy like consistency, return the cooked chicken pieces to the pan to heat through.

2 cups self raising flour

A generous pinch salt

Some herbs of your choice

¾ cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat your oven or place your camp oven into the hottest part of the coals.

Mix the flour, salt and herbs together in a bowl. Heat the milk and butter together until butter just melts. Mix quickly to a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly.

A handy hint – cover your board with some plastic wrap or alfoil and discard after you have kneaded the dough. This saves cleaning the board of sticky dough.

Cut the dough into rounds, place on a tray and put into the oven. If you are using a camp oven, place the hot biscuits into the oven, pop the lid on and top with heaps of hot coals. Cooking time will be about 10 minutes.

Remove the hot biscuits from the oven (or camp oven) and serve with the chicken casserole. To serve, place two or three chicken pieces with a generous serving of gravy on each serving plate with a couple of hot biscuits.

You can butter the hot biscuits if you like, but the jury is still out on that particular issue in my family. Husband says butter; I say no butter, and my daughter Kim can’t decide.