Once you master the use of your camp oven, you can cook almost anything in it! Below we are sharing some of our favourite camp oven recipes.
Yellow Vegetable Curry
You need:
- Vegetables of your choice- we recommend pumpkin, carrot, potato, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, capsicum
- Organic tofu
- Can of chickpeas
- Yellow curry paste, coconut milk & cream
- Jasmine or Basmati rice
- Chilli for extra punch
Cut your chosen vegetables into chunky pieces and your tofu into cubes. Drain your chickpeas. Soak and rinse your rice if possible, then place in a pot and add water using the knuckle method (stick your finger into the pot; with your fingertip on the rice, the water should come up to your first knuckle).
Place your camp oven on your hot plate or directly onto your coals; you will need a medium, steady heat. Fry off your curry paste with oil as directed and add your vegetables, stir well. Once your vegetables are slightly fried, add tofu cubes and top off with a can of coconut milk, coconut cream and your chickpeas. Stir and close the lid. Place your rice pot on your hot plate. Once your rice is boiling, take it off the fire. Place the rice pot just off to the side of the fire and weigh the lid down with something heavy like a rock. The rice will keep cooking. After a while, you will start smelling the delicious aromas of your camp curry, stir occasionally to avoid sticking; Your curry will take around 45mins to cook.
Camp oven pizza
Yes, you can have pizza while camping, and a good one too! It’s easy.
You need:
- Pizza bases, wraps or pita bread fitting the diameter of your camp oven
- Can of diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
- Tomato paste or passata
- Dried Italian herbs or fresh herbs
- Grated cheese
- Your favourite toppings (olives, mushrooms, ham, salami, feta…)
Prepare all your pizzas: Spread tomato sauce or paste on your bases, add diced tomatoes, herbs, cheese and toppings. Don’t overload your pizzas as it will make it harder to retrieve them from your camp oven. Use a grate or upside down tin plate in the bottom of your camp oven to avoid burning.
Place your camp oven on a medium heat, put in your pizza and close the lid. Cook until the cheese is melted and toppings slightly cooked. Take out carefully using a BBQ mate or cake turner. Repeat the process for each pizza. Pizzas are so easy, so much fun, and everyone’s favourite!
Tip: As you can only make one pizza at a time, choose toppings that everyone likes and share the pizzas.
Damper
Yes, you can make your damper in your camp oven. No, it’s not cheating.
You need:
- 500-1000gr of self-rising flour
- 300-500ml of beer or soda water
- Pinch of salt
Making damper in your camp oven is easy if you have good coals, and you won’t have ash all over your bread. To prepare your dough, put your flour into a bowl and add a little salt and half a some beer or soda water. Knead thoroughly and keep adding liquid as needed. The finished dough should not be sticky or dry (not stick to your hands and not crack). Cover your bowl with a cloth and let it sit for 30-60 mins to rise. If you are in the warm tropics, you should have a good outside temperature for the dough to rise. If you are in a cooler climate, try to find a warm spot for your dough or place your bowl close to your fire. If you are baking a damper for breakfast, you can prepare your dough the previous night and let it sit overnight. You will also be able to use your coals from the night before. Once risen, place your dough in your camp oven and your camp oven on the coals, close the lid and place hot coals on the lid; or you can place your camp oven on your BBQ plate over the coals. Use your spade or shovel to manage the coals and heat, please don’t dig holes in the ground! You can check the progress of your damper by carefully lifting the lid slightly and having a peek. After about 45 minutes, you should have a nicely browned, delicious damper. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect the first time, it is a bit of an art.
Care for your camp oven
Choose a good quality cast iron camp oven and it will last you a lifetime. It is also pretty easy to look after. Once you have finished your meal and scraped out your leftovers, simply put the oven back on your fire to burn off any food residues. Let it cool down and wipe it out with olive oil. Done!
