In this deliciously fragrant vegetarian campfire dish, a homemade sub-ah b’har seven-spice mix is used to season onions, chickpeas and seasonal greens. Perfect as a side, or even as a light main meal.
There is something wonderfully primal about cooking over an open fire.
The smell of the wood smoke, getting the fire lit and up to the right temperature, the simplicity in the ingredients: it’s what camping is all about. Getting back to nature; keeping it simple.
There’s also something primal and comforting about camping with other people, seeing their camp-fires at a safe distance flickering in the night, low murmuring voices in conversation punctuated by the occasional laugh. Although, should a sabre-toothed tiger have made its presence known I think it would have been every camper for themselves (especially those ones with their tinny iPod music – honestly, leave that stuff at home!)
Outdoor cooking these days usually involves a gas or coal barbecue and charring a piece of meat to beyond recognition. Ok, I do love a bit of burnt meat, but sometimes something different, something a little bit more adventurous, something vegetarian, is required.
We went camping this summer: five fantastic nights in the Lake District in England and three in the Cairngorms in Scotland. It was bliss with plenty of outdoor cooking involved. I will get around to blogging those adventures, eventually, but in the meantime here’s one of my recipes.
I made this dish for my husband’s birthday dinner.
Oh great, you might be thinking, chickpeas for a birthday dinner – couldn’t you have cooked him steak instead?
We’d had a wonderfully active day that day: my husband and the children had been adventuring in the treetops at the Grizedale Go Ape facility (I watched and photographed from the safety of the ground!). Living on Shetland my children are not accustomed to trees as the harsh north wind (and the sheep) are not conducive to their survival. What a treat it was for them to be able to dance around the tops of the trees, their very first experience in a real forest.
Afterwards, we indulged in a fantastic birthday lunch at the Queens Head pub in Hawkshead, so come the evening we wanted something a little lighter to dine on.
I’d planned this meal in advance. I didn’t plan it to be my husband’s birthday dinner, but I did plan on cooking it sometime while we were camping.
The spice mix, sub-ah b’har is a Middle Eastern 7-spice mix, a staple spice blend in any Middle Eastern pantry. I’d found the original recipe in Sharon Salloum’s Almond Bar: 100 Delicious Syrian Recipes and slightly adapted it by using whole toasted seeds. I’ve included the recipe below, which makes about 120 grams of spice mix, but you only need 1 tablespoon to make this dish. Alternatively, just buy a ready-made jar of the spice blend.
Pondering quick and portable camping recipe ideas I bagged up a few tablespoons of this spice mix and cello-taped them to the side of a 39 pence tin of chickpeas in water. I had the idea of cooking them with gently sautéed onion and some greens thrown in for good measure.
I had no idea these chickpeas would turn out as well as they did. They were beautiful; spiced morsels with a hint of wood smoke and sautéed onion. Sitting under a canopy of trees with the evening summer sunlight filtering through, a glass of chilled white wine in hand – bliss. Absolute, perfect summer bliss. I think the flavour of the wood smoke is essential with this dish. I haven’t tried cooking it on the hob yet to compare, I’d rather keep the fond camping memories I have of it instead.
For afters (a birthday requires a birthday cake, no?) I’d made a couple of chocolate orange camp-fire cakes using real ingredients (no boxed brownie mix here!). Served with the whipped cream and the last of the wine they too went down really, really well (and that’s not the wine talking!). All in all my husband thought it was the best birthday he’d ever had.
Chocolate Orange Camp Fire Birthday Cake Recipe
Middle Eastern Spiced Camp Fire Chickpeas
Ingredients
For the sub-ah b'har seven-spice mix
- 2 tbsp whole cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp whole allspice berries
For the spiced chickpeas
- 4 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 large onion
- 1 tbsp sub-ah b'har 7 spice mix
- 1 400 gram tinned chickpeas
- 100 grams seasonal greens spinach, chard, kale, spicy Chinese greens, etc.
- Shetland sea salt to taste
Affiliate Links
This recipe card may contain affiliate ingredient and equipment links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- Place the cumin and coriander seeds in a small, dry pan over a medium heat and toast until the cumin seeds start popping.
- Transfer the toasted seeds to a large mortar and pestle along with the remaining ingredients and grind to a find powder.
- Transfer to an air tight container and store in a dark cupboard for up to 12 months.
- To prepare the spiced chickpeas get a good fire going and heat the sunflower oil in your cooking pan. I have a fondness for cast iron, but a camping cooking pot will work or even a Dutch oven suspended on a tripod will do.
- Gently sauté the onions until they begin to soften. The time this takes will depend on how hot your fire is and where your pan is located.
- Add the spice mix and sauté for a further minute or two.
- Stir in the drained chickpeas and combine well. Make sure the chickpeas are heated thoroughly.
- Add your greens and sauté until they have just wilted but they still retain some texture.
- Season to taste and serve immediately.
Notes
[amazon_link asins=’B017KHYCNG,B00KMWSZGW’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’elizskitcdiar-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’7a326f37-4d09-11e8-b8fd-3bb2c1401d49′]
MORE VEGAN CAMPING RECIPES THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE
Curried Lentils with Spinach
Lentil & Tomato Stew
Overnight Oats – No Cook Camping Breakfast
Hot Mulled Scrumpy Cider (aka Bonfire Juice)
OTHER CHICKPEA RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Hearty Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew by Tinned Tomatoes (vegetarian)
Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Bake by Tinned Tomatoes (vegetarian)
Turkey and Chickpea Curry by Blue Kitchen Bakes
Spiced Butternut, Chickpea, Red Onion & Raisin Couscous by The Greedy Gourmet (vegetarian)
Warm Chickpea and Calamari Salad by Franglais Kitchen
Chickpea, Feta, Caper & Watercress Salad with Pesto Dressing by Fuss FreeFlavours (vegetarian)
Chicken & Paprika Crostini by Cook Sister
Moroccan Style Spiced Tomato & Chickpea Soup by How to Cook Good Food (vegetarian)
Lime & Coriander Hummus by Maison Cupcake (vegetarian)
Tunisian Chickpea & Vegetable Tagine by Kellie’s Food to Glow (vegetarian)
Chickpea Curry by Mamta’s Kitchen (vegetarian)
If you’re looking for a hearty meaty campfire dish, why not try this Cowboy Stew recipe from The Hedgecombers.
[color-box]
Have you made this recipe?
Take a photo and tag @tangoraindrop or use the hashtag #elizabethskitchendiary and share on Instagram and Twitter. It would make my day to see your creations!
[/color-box]
Musings on home & belonging: Orangedale
I adore chickpeas, so this recipe is right up my street! Yum x
Kids loved it. very good and easy recipe, i tried it last night
Made this last night, it was delicious! I will definitely be making this again.
What a lovely idea Elizabeth!
I wished we thought about this during our Scottish West Highland Way hike. The delicious chickpeas would have been a great reward at the end of the day, around a cozy fire 🙂 Oh well, there’s always the next time!
Middle Eastern cuisine is one of my favourites especially as a vegetarian as they have so many great vegetarian and vegan recipes that I can try. And chickpea is always a staple in my food cupboard so Ii really like the sound of the camp fire chickpeas with the variety of spices used.
Oh this looks absolutely divine. A fantastic, fun way to cook – and I love the touch of the birthday cake too! So sweet!
I have never cooked on a campfire but it looks like so much fun!
What a beautiful looking meal – you make it sound so romantic – and I say that as someone who hates camping. I suppose those chickpeas would taste just as good out in the back garden!
What a fun way to cook. This looks perfect for camping or the beach hut
I would never have thought to make something so fancy when camping, but why not?! Thanks for the inspo x
Wo, I never thought of cooking chickpeas in that way. I just use them for humus or as an addition to things like chilli but i am definitely going to give this a try. The price mix sounds incredibly fragrant and I love food with big flavours. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, they look delicious. I really want to try them! I’m definitely going to have to make them, the spice mix in particular sounds amazing.
Now this is really interesting, I don’t like chickpeas, but I do like the look and sound of this.
Oh how lovely. I love that there is always a context behind each recipe you are a very unique food blogger. Chickpeas are so versatile too x
PS I hope no one comes along to take your title of Britain’s most northerly food blogger from you! 😀
Elizabeth, I just came over from your interview on Kavey’s blog. Wanted to give the post some love! Your campfire photos are absolutely stunning.
What a fantastic day – I am hoping for my own Go Ape adventure as soon as I am strong enough to spend a day in the treetops! Love your recipe and what a great idea to tape the spice mix to the can in advance – so easy for campfire cooking. 🙂
Oh yummy. I’m always looking for ideas for the veggie BBQ and I love chick peas!
The flavour combination you’ve used with these chickpeas sound so delicious! I’m craving this now.. i’m going to have to make this later!
never been a massive fan of chickpeas, but this recipe sounds quite nice.
This looks like a really tasty campfire recipe, I’ll definitely try it next time I’m camping x
Oh this sounds divine. I am always on the lookout for easy camping dishes this one would hit the spot!
It’s really quick to make, I do hope you try it some time – outdoors, of course! 🙂
i love chick peas and this spice blend sounds great!
Me too DIna – the spice blend really works well with this dish, I think.
Oh that looks wonderful! Always so hard to move successfully away from meat on the barbecue but you have naield it. Never heard of this spice blend but I imagine it would be wonderful – and the flavour of woodsmoke *always* improves every dish 🙂
Thanks jeanne 🙂 have to agree about the wood smoke flavour!
I absolutely adore chickpeas and with that spice mix – I bet it takes them to a whole new level!
It really does! I’m a big fan of chickpeas these days too 🙂
scrummylicious. I love the spices you have in this recipe and have bought a tin of chickpeas to try this out 🙂
Ooh I hope you like it 🙂 I do believe the wood smoke enhances the whole dish.
What a great campfire dish – we are off to a holiday house next month and this looks a great holiday house meal without my usual kitchen about even if no wood smoke is involved. Interesting to hear about your children’s experience of the trees – one of my favourite local parks has a big peppercorn tree in the middle of the play equipment and is a great tree for kids to climb – would love to do one of the those tree tops walks but I think E would be the one down the bottom
Thanks Johanna 🙂 Ooh a holiday home adventure sounds exciting, and how lovely to have a peppercorn tree to climb!
The dish sounds wonderful and the experience too. Wish I was there! I will mix me up the spice mix – sounds lush.
Thanks Heather – it was a magical day 🙂 I hope you like the spice mix!
This sounds very nice indeed.
Thanks Paul 🙂 It was!
I have never tasted a chickpea ever! Looks interesting
Oh you must remedy that! They’re such a versatile legume – hummus, soups, stews, falafels, the list is endless! 🙂
Your lucky, lucky husband. What a way to celebrate your birthday! Your spiced chickpeas look absolutely delicious – how organised are you taking your spice mix camping with you? And I love the look of the chocolate orange camp fire cakes too. Thank you so much for linking up with August’s Spice Trail challenge 🙂
He was rather impressed (eventually – he was a little bit sceptical as I was cooking it!). 🙂 I took one of my veg box crates filled with food with us in a bid to save pennies – porridge oats, UHT milk, tinned fruit, etc. Camp fire cooking essentials 🙂 Thanks for hosting such a fab challenge to link up to!
PS – Just read your biog. If you haven’t already read it, you must read Alistair McLeod’s No Great Mischief which is the story of a family moving from the west of Scotland to Nova Scotia. I read it when we were living in Moray before we went on holiday to Halifax, it’s a great book! (we also spent two years living in Alberta)
It’s on my to-read list! You’re not the first person to suggest that novel to me – I will read it eventually 🙂
That looks delicious, I would never think of using chickpeas as a main dish. I have pinned it for later cooking and by the way I totally agree with the pleasure of outdoor cooking or just sitting by a fire in general. Great photos too!
Thanks Clare 🙂 I’ve been using chickpeas more and more because they’re so inexpensive. I wanted something portable and non-perishable to cook too – was really pleased how well it turned out! Let me know what you think if/when you try it. I do think cooking it outdoors adds to the appeal and flavour 🙂
They look gorgeous and I bet they ad a wonderful smoky flavour too. I am a big fan of chickpeas and would love this. Thanks for linking to me in the post 🙂
It was a really lovely dish – hubby said this post brought it all back, smoky flavours and all 🙂
That spice mix sounds amazing, I can almost smell the cloves from here! What a lovely campfire treat after a day jumping around in trees – I’d leave the trees but take the chickpeas any day!
It is a really lovely blend. I used the last of the last batch up last night to season some cheap lamb cuts which had been slow cooking all day, along with some sautéed onions. Yummy stuff! I would have loved to have done the treetops, alas, my dodgy ankle prevents me from doing such things. It was lovely to watch everyone else have fun though 🙂