Cooking Simple Meals on a Small Camping Stove

Why a Small Stove Is All You Need

There is a particular pleasure in cooking outdoors after a long walk over the fells. The light is going, the midges are thinking about it, and a small camping stove hisses into life beside a tarn or in the corner of a Dales campsite. You do not need a full kitchen to eat well out there. A simple canister or liquid-fuel stove, a lightweight pot and a little planning will produce hot, filling meals that taste far better than they have any right to.

The key is to treat the stove as a tool with limits. Most small stoves are brilliant at boiling water and gently simmering, but poor at high-heat frying or long, slow cooking. Work with that, not against it, and you will eat properly every evening.

Plan One-Pot Recipes

One pot means one thing to wash, one thing to carry and far less fuel used. Build your meals around a base that can absorb water and flavour: couscous, instant noodles, quick-cook rice, pasta that softens in four or five minutes, or dehydrated mash. Add protein and flavour that does not demand much cooking.

• Orzo and sun-dried tomato: boil water, add orzo, a spoon of tomato purée from a tube, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a pinch of dried oregano. Simmer for six minutes, stir in a hard cheese wedge crumbled small, and leave to stand covered.
• Couscous with chorizo: pour boiling water over couscous in the pot, cover, and let it steam off the heat. Crumble in pre-cooked chorizo or a foil pouch of tuna, add lemon powder and olive oil.
• Instant noodles upgraded: cook the noodles, then stir in a sachet of peanut butter, a splash of soy sauce and a handful of dried vegetables. Rich, salty and exactly right after a wet walk.
• Porridge with a difference: oats, milk powder, a spoon of jam and a pinch of salt. It costs pennies and gets you up a hill.

Measure dry ingredients at home into a freezer bag or small pot so you are not guessing in the dark. Write the water quantity on the bag with a marker. That single habit saves fuel and stops you producing either soup or cement.

Measure Fuel for Each Meal

Fuel is weight, and weight matters on a long walk. Before a trip, boil a measured amount of water at home and time how long your stove takes. A typical small canister stove will boil half a litre in roughly three minutes in still air. A 100g canister holds enough gas for perhaps twelve to fifteen such boils in good conditions; cold weather and wind can halve that.

For each meal, count your boils. Couscous or noodles usually need one. Pasta may need two if you are topping up. Coffee and a wash-up add more. A weekend of four hot meals plus drinks is comfortably two boils a day per person, so one canister between two people for two nights is realistic in summer. In frost, take the larger canister or a liquid-fuel stove that copes better with the cold.

Keep your canister warm by sleeping with it, or stand it in a shallow puddle of water if the ground is not frozen. A nearly empty canister feels light and sloshes less; weigh it on kitchen scales before you leave if you want to be precise. Never cook inside a tent, and always check the stove is fully off before you pack it away.

Protect the Stove From Wind

Wind is the enemy of a small stove. It steals heat, doubles your boiling time and can blow a flame out mid-meal. A sturdy foil windscreen is the simplest fix and weighs almost nothing.

• Make or buy a screen that wraps around the burner but leaves a clear gap for the canister and any air vents. Trapping heat around a gas canister can cause it to overheat and is genuinely dangerous.
• Use a screen tall enough to shield the pot base, with the open side facing the wind rather than wrapping fully around.
• Pitch your cooking spot behind a rock, a tussock or a drystone wall. In the Dales you are rarely short of natural shelter.
• Fold the screen flat when not in use and check it has not warped against the pot. A warped screen is a nuisance to pack.

A piece of heavy-duty foil folded to three or four thicknesses will last a season if you look after it. Pair it with a lid on the pot, and a tea towel or hat as insulation while food stands, and you will cut your fuel use noticeably.

Make It Taste of Something

Small bottles and tubes transform basic food. Olive oil in a 100ml bottle, soy sauce, a lemon or lime, a tube of tomato purée, dried garlic granules, chilli flakes, a stock cube and a hard cheese that keeps without a fridge. Add a small bag of mixed herbs and you can vary the same base across a week.

Pack a lightweight long-handled spoon and a small scourer. Wash up with a little hot water and a drop of eco-friendly soap well away from streams and tarns, and pour the water away from water sources. Leave the campsite as you found it, or better.

Keep It Simple and Enjoy It

The best outdoor meals are rarely complicated. A hot one-pot, a brew and a sit-down with a view over limestone scars or a quiet valley will beat most restaurant food after a long day. Practise one or two recipes at home, learn your stove's appetite for fuel, and always give it a windbreak. Do that, and a small camping stove becomes the most useful thing in your pack.