In years to come, when global warming kicks in, the peak oil crisis hits or the zombies attack and we’re all forced to seek refuge in the hills, environmentalists like myself may find ourselves proven wrong on the whole introduced species debate – “eating our words,” you could say.
Over the years we’ve poisoned, trapped, and flattened as many possums, stoats, rabbits and pigs as we possibly could – and for good reason. These little beasties, have the same effect on our national parks as motorised garden tools have on our back yards – and neatly trimmed isn’t a good look for beech forest.
However, when you’re hungry and armed with a rifle, these little gremlins start to look less like noxious vermin… and more like fury back country meals on legs – a good sized Central Otago pig bears a striking resemblance to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
So it’s well worth having a recipe or two in the repertoire that works with wild food, like this wild bacon and pea risoni… in case of zombies.
Profile
Serves: Two
Weight: 455g
Volume: 1l
Calories: 1938
Cost: $13
Cooking time: 18min
Fuel: 150ml white spirit, or 60g camping gas*
*Based on an MSR Whisperlite burning white spirit at sea level.
Ingredients
- 200g Wild bacon
- 50g Dried peas
- 25g Dried onion
- 250g Risoni
- 100g Parmesan, grated.
- 30ml Olive oil
- 1 Chicken stock cube
- Salt and pepper
Method
Fry the bacon, chop into strips and set aside. Bring approximately a litre of water to boil, dissolve the stock cube, and then add the risoni. Simmer for five minutes and then add the peas and onion. Simmer for a further three minutes or until the risoni is al dente and drain. Lastly, stir the grated parmesan through, then add the bacon and serve.
