Camping stoves are temperamental beasts at the best of times. If you can avoid burning dinner to a crisp, or serving it cold, you’re clearly of above average culinary ability. But the real masters of the art of backcountry cooking learn how to turn flaws into features by carefully selecting meals that actually benefit from a bit of rough treatment. This blackened chicken wrap is a classic example.

Profile

Serves: Two

Weight: 1.1kg

Volume: 1l

Kilojoules: 10,300

Cost: $22

Time: 20min (+prep)

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, diced*

6 tortilla wraps

¼ cup butter, melted

Blackening mix

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Tabouleh

¼ cup bulgur wheat

1 big bunch parsley – finely chopped

1 spring onion – finely chopped

6 sundried tomatoes – finely chopped

½ bunch mint – finely chopped

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

* We usually do this recipe for day-trips. However, you can make it work for an overnighter by freezing the chicken and allowing it to thaw on the trip in.

Method

Before you leave, prepare the blackening mix at home and store in a 20 x 30cm plastic bag.

In the field, put the bulgur wheat in cold water with a little lemon juice and salt as soon as you get to the hut – it’ll need to soak for at least 30min, possibly more depending on how coarsely ground it is.

Coat the chicken pieces in melted butter then pop them all in the bag containing the spice mix and give the whole lot a good shake to thoroughly coat everything. Add a little oil to a pan and bring up to a high temperature and sear the chicken pieces. Set them aside to rest.

Thoroughly strain the bulgur wheat, then mix in the parsley, mint, spring onions, sundried tomatoes and a little lemon juice and olive oil (less is more with the last two).

Lay the chicken pieces and the tabouli out on a wrap and tuck in!