I often make myself an omelette for lunch. Sometimes I fill it with ham, mushroom and tomato. At other times I treat myself to an omelette with smoked salmon. I love the flavour of smoked salmon with capers, so I throw a few on top for flavour.
I used chopped chives with this omelette, but it would be super delicious with fresh dill also. That is the best thing about omelettes – just add your favourite flavours! The following is a recipe for one omelette – it’s easy to double, triple, or quadruple the ingredients to make two, three, or four omelettes.
ette
Ingredients
For one omelette you will need –
2 large eggs 2 teaspoons sour cream 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon of fresh chives A small dob of butter 15g of smoked salmon, chopped 1 1/2 tablespoons of grated cheese
To top the omelette 40g smoked salmon 1/2 tsp of chopped capers Sour cream and chives to garnish
Beat the eggs, sour cream, pepper and chives until just mixed.
Melt the butter in a small nonstick pan. Add the egg mixture and cook for one minute. Then sprinkle one half of the omelette with the chopped salmon and the grated cheese. Cook gently until almost cooked through, about two minutes.
Using a flexible spatula (or two), flip the bare omelette side over the side that has the salmon and cheese. Cook omelette for another minute or two, until cooked to your liking.
Arrange omelette on a plate, top with smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream, capers and chopped chives.
Bon Appétit
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I have a simple scone recipe I use when camping. None of the ingredients needs to be refrigerated. I use self-raising flour, long-life cream and long-life milk, which is super handy if you have limited fridge/esky space.
Near the end of our last camping trip, I noticed I had ham, cheese and some herbs that I needed to use up, so I decided to make ham and cheese scones. I had never cooked them in the camp oven before and was super pleased they turned out as delicious as they did.
As always, Dwayne was in charge of cooking the scones over the fire. I simply told him I would usually cook them at 200C for about 30 minutes and let him work on getting the right temperature over the fire.
Further on, you will find some instructions about cooking scones in a camp oven and some tips on what you need to consider when producing the cooking heat. I hope you enjoy this recipe and be sure to let me know how they turn out.
Our camp kitchen
We cooked these yummy scones on a recent camping trip on Kangaroo Island. We were camped at American River.
Camping at American River
Sunset in the Australian Bush
Ingredients
3 cups self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary 1/2 cup chopped ham 1 cup coarsely grated cheese A pinch of salt 300ml cream About 75 ml milk
Method
Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the chives, rosemary, ham, cheese and a pinch of salt, then mix well.
Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add the cream and most of the milk. Mix well add more milk if necessary. The dough should not be too wet and sticky. Do not over mix the dough.
Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead a little (do not over-knead). Shape the dough into a ball and then flatten to the shape of your camp oven. Place on a greased piece of baking paper and cut into wedges (you do not need to cut all the way through.
Heat your camp oven over the coals. Carefully lift the dough/scones by the baking paper and place them into the camp oven.
Cook the scones with a little heat under the camp oven and coals on top. Our theory is to cook it from both top and bottom with more heat on top. We hung our camp oven over a small fire. Using a star-drop (as a makeshift tripod), Dwayne was able to lift the camp oven higher to reduce the heat or lower it to increase the heat. We used heat beads on the top of the camp oven because we hadn’t had time to develop many coals and the heat beads hold their heat better, making this ‘brunch’ reasonably quick to make. We checked every 10 minutes until the scones were ready. Again, we adjusted the heat, if needed, when we checked it.
Use a knife to see if the scones are ready. Dig in deep with the tip of a knife; if the knife comes out clean, scones should be ready.
To cook in your home oven.
Place the scones on a greased oven tray and bake at 200C in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
For more instruction on cooking with hot coals.
If you want to cook on coals from a campfire, you need to burn a good amount of wood to create hot coals. It can take an hour or so for your campfire to make enough coals to cook on. Be sure to factor the process of producing the embers into your prep and cooking time. Alternatively, if time or good wood is in short supply, use heat-beads as they heat up quickly and hold their heat well.
The easiest way to cook in a camp oven over hot coals is to lift the coals out of the fire with a long-handled shovel. Select a safe place next to the fire and put a small amount of *coals on the ground. Place the camp oven onto the coals. Get some more coals from the fire to place on top of the oven. Getting the right amount of coals is not always easy. Be aware of cooking the scones too hot and burning them. It will take some experimentation to get the temperature right. Therefore, check the scones after 10 minutes to make sure you are not cooking them too hot or not hot enough.
*you only need a small number of coals under the camp oven or none at all. Too many, and you will burn the bottom of the scones.
Many factors determine the heat of the coals, such as ambient temperature and wind. If it is windy, the coals will cook hotter. Make allowances for wind by reducing the number of coals used.
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Traditional damper, developed by the Aussie stockmen, is made with plain flour and water and typically cooked in the ashes or coals of a campfire. Nowadays, there are hundreds of variations to the original recipe.
I usually make beer damper, just flour and beer. However, on a recent road trip from Darwin to Adelaide, I decided to try something different and threw in a heap of fruit, nuts and cinnamon for a sweet treat.
Chocka-block full of fruit, nuts and seeds, I didn’t bother adding a sweetener. I got Dwayne, who likes things a little sweeter than me, to add his sweetener with honey or jam. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and enjoy my damper with dripping hot butter.
Our Camp Kitchen
I made this yummy fruit and nut damper when camping at Burra Creek Gorge with Dwayne, our friends Kate and Martin, and their dog Boris.
Mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon or your hands and shape into a cob shape.
Line the camp oven with grease baking paper or a layer of flour to stop the damper from sticking.
Put the damper in the camp oven, put the lid on and coat the lid with hot coals.
To cook the damper with hot coals.
If you want to cook on coals from a campfire, you need to burn large logs to create hot coals. It can take an hour or so for your campfire to make enough coals to cook upon. Be sure to factor the process of producing the embers into your prep and cooking time. Alternatively, if you have time limits or a lack of good wood, use heat-beads as they heat up quickly and hold their heat well.
The easiest way to cook in a camp oven over hot coals is to lift the coals out of the fire with a long-handled shovel. Select a safe place next to the fire and put a small amount of *coals on the ground. Place the camp oven onto the coals. Get some more coals from the fire to place on top of the oven. Getting the right amount of coals is not always easy. Be aware of cooking the damper too hot and burning it. It will take some experimentation to get the temperature right. Therefore, check the damper after 10 minutes to make sure you are not cooking it too hot or not hot enough.
*You only need a small number of coals under the camp oven or none at all. Too many, and you will burn the bottom of the damper.
Many factors determine the heat of the coals, such as ambient temperature and wind. If you have wind, the coals will cook hotter. Make allowances for wind by reducing the number of coals used.
The time it takes to cook the damper is directly related to how hot you cook it. It should take approximately 30-40 minutes. You can tell when the damper is cooked by tapping on the top. If it sounds hollow, it is ready. Alternatively, stick a knife in it, and if it comes out clean, it should be ready.
To Serve
Serve with butter, maple syrup, jam and cream, chopped fruit or any other topping you desire.
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Breakfast in New Zealand, the land of my birth, is as varied as the eclectic variety of people representing ‘Kiwis’. Porridge, fruits and yoghurts are popular, as are eggs Benedict and French toast. However, it’s the addition of lambs fry and bacon, savoury mince, and corn fritters on the menu, that indeed reveals you are dining in a New Zealand cafe.
The last time I was in New Zealand, my dad and I breakfasted in Ahuriri, Napier. Dad ordered the corn fritters, served with bacon, avocado and sour cream, and seeing that he enjoyed it so much, I remarked that I could teach him how to make them at home. Therefore this recipe is dedicated to my dad…. time to cook breakfast old boy.
I decided upon serving my corn fritters with avocado, bacon, an egg for additional protein, and warm tomato relish. Make the relish first and have it slowly simmering on the stovetop while you make the fritters. Once cooked (keep fritters warm in the oven), but before you cook the eggs, take the tomato relish from the heat and allow to cool slightly, while you fry or poach your eggs. The following recipe will feed four people.
For the warm tomato relish
1 tablespoon olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1/2 a small onion, finely chopped (approximately 3 tablespoons) 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons brown sugar (loosely packed) 1 teaspoon dijon mustard Salt to taste
Heat oil in a small saucepan and lightly sauté the garlic and onion for a minute or two, do not brown.
Add the tomatoes, pepper, vinegar, sugar and mustard, and simmer gently, occasionally stirring, while you make the fritters. Add water as necessary.
Remove from heat for a few minutes before serving.
For the corn fritters
¾ cup plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1 egg, beaten 440g can cream-style corn 440g corn kernels 3 spring onions, finely sliced
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a bowl.
Add the egg, mixing well to combine. Stir in the creamed corn, corn kernels and the spring onion.
Spray a large fry pan with oil spray and heat. Carefully spoon fritter mixture into the pan, creating two or three fritters about eight centimetres in diameter. Cook until golden brown, flip and cook the other side.
Remove from the pan, place on a plate with absorbent paper, put it into the oven, set on low, and keep warm. Repeat until you have eight fritters.
To serve
8 rashers of bacon, cooked to your liking 4 eggs, cooked to your liking 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Place two corn fritters in the middle of each plate, top with sliced avocado, bacon and an egg. Finish with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato relish.
Bon appétit
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I’m not sure where the term ‘Eggs in Purgatory’ originated. Does it refer to the bubbling red tomato sauce? I’m not sure. However, this recipe is perfect for cooking in the camp oven over a campfire. Perfect for an Aussie bush brunch, this dish is high in protein and super tasty.
1 Tablespoon oil
1 Red onion, finely chopped
3 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 Can of tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs
1/2 – 1 Teaspoon dried, crushed chilli
1/2 Teaspoon beef/veg stock powder
1 Can of mixed beans
4 Eggs
Grated cheese
Cracked black pepper
Method
Heat the camp oven in the campfire* and heat oil. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until onion is translucent.
Add the tomatoes, herbs, chilli and stock powder, and cook for a few minutes until tomatoes start to thicken.
Add the beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Crack eggs into the tomato bean mix, and sprinkle with grated cheese and black pepper.
Put the lid on the camp oven. Top the camp oven with hot coals and cook at moderate temperature until eggs are cooked to your liking.
*Sautéing over the fire in a camp oven can be uncomfortably hot. There are several ways I cook with an open pot, depending on what sort of fireplace we have (e.g. iron fire pit or open fire). One way is to hang your camp oven over the fire with a tripod or, in our case, a star-dropper. Another way is to take a shovel load of coals from the firepit and, in a safe place near the fire, place them on the ground, put your camp oven on top and cook over the coals.
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Gourmet from the galley! 