Cooking on the road is often about convenience and working with what you have to hand. Tinned soups fit nicely into the convenience category and are a good addition to your caravan pantry – they can provide a tasty base for a variety of meals and they have a long shelf life, so you can store them for those nights when there isn’t a grocery store for miles around.
The following recipes all use tinned soup as their flavour base.
Vegetable Curry
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
The following quantities will serve four
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1-2 tbsp curry powder
- 500g pumpkin, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 large potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 400g tin cream of chicken soup
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a low heat. Fry the onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes until the onion is softened.
Add the cubed pumpkin, sweet potato and potato to the saucepan and continue to cook for a further five minutes. Stir the mixture in the saucepan occasionally during this cooking time.
Pour the soup over the veggies in the saucepan, stir well and then simmer until the vegetables are tender. This should take about 10 minutes.
Serve the curry over steamed rice or with some crusty bread, if you prefer.
Souper Sausages
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
The following quantities will serve four
- 8 thick beef sausages
- 400g tin pea and ham soup
- 2 tsp hot English mustard
- 1 green apple, cored and roughly chopped
- 1-2 cups finely shredded cabbage
Cook the sausages in a non-stick pan until they are golden brown. Remove the sausages from the pan and then wipe the pan with some paper towel to remove any excess fat.
Add the soup, mustard, apple and cabbage to the pan and stir well. Bring this mixture to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Return the sausages to the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes. You only need to cook until the cabbage is tender.
Serve on creamy mashed potato for a hearty dinner.
Fast Pasta
This is a one-pan meal that can be eaten straight out of the pan, if you desire. Great for minimal washing up!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
The following quantities will serve four
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- A good pinch of dried oregano
- 250g fresh mince
- 1 small tin carrots, drained
- 1 small tin peas, drained
- 400g tin tomato soup
- 1-2 cups boiling water
- 200g small pasta
- Grated cheese for serving
- A couple of leaves of fresh basil, roughly torn (optional)
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a gentle heat and sauté the onion, garlic and oregano. Cook this mixture until the onion has softened. Add the mince to the pan and cook for a few minutes, breaking up the clumps of mince with a fork as you do so. If you are using fresh mince, cook until the mince has just browned.
Now add the drained tins of carrots and peas to the saucepan as well as the tomato soup and water. Mix together thoroughly and then bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the saucepan, stir thoroughly and then bring the heat back to a simmer. Cover the saucepan and continue to cook until the pasta is tender. Stir from time to time to prevent sticking.
Serve the Fast Pasta with a generous topping of grated cheese and the fresh basil leaves.