© Ashy Macbean 2002
Foil baked vegetables and fruit
When I was a kid we used to make fires all the time. In the woods, on the beach, by the river (once in somebody's garage, but I won't go into that). It's still something I love doing. I think there's something magical about starting a fire and watching it grow. Have you ever sat round a campfire in the dark, feeling the heat on your face, watching the flames, listening to the wood crackle and smelling the burning pine resin? Hard to beat, isn't it?
Often, we used to lift (steal) a few potatoes from a field on the way to our fire building spot and when the fire was at its hottest - when the flames have died down and there are a lot of red embers - we would bury the potatoes in the depths of the fire. When they came out, half an hour or more later, they would be charred black but when the skin was cracked open the inside would be beautifully white and fluffy with a wonderful baked-potato smell. I still think this is one of the best ways to eat potatoes and if you haven't tried it, I suggest you do. Wrapping the potatoes in aluminium foil stops the skin from charring, so you (or your guests) don't get black hands and the skin can be eaten, but I'm not sure if this is an over-all improvement on the original recipe. When we start talking about wrapping things in foil, however, a whole new, exciting area of outdoor cooking opens up for the vegetarian and we're now going to explore a few ideas in that direction.
I should point out that cooking times by necessity have to be rather vague for these recipes as it will all depend on what sort of fire you get going and that in turn will depend on the weather, the wood or charcoal you use and your experience with this sort of thing. All I can suggest is that you check one of your foil parcels just before you think they should be ready and see if it fits with the stage you imagined it to be at. If it doesn't, adjust your calculations accordingly. That might even mean whisking all the parcels out quickly before they burn to a crisp. This isn't an exact science, but that's part of the fun.
The best thing to do is prepare the vegetables and wrap them in foil before you leave home. When you wrap them, bear in mind that the seam/join should be on top of the parcel so that any juices don't escape into the fire.
Baked potatoes
Wrap the potatoes in foil and bury in hot coals for 35-45 minutes.
Stuffed courgettes
Make a fairly deep cut lengthwise in each courgette. make another lengthwise
cut at ninety degrees to the first and you should be able to remove a long segment.
The space that this leaves will hold the stuffing. Use a mixture of cream cheese
and sun-dried tomato with a pinch of oregano, thyme or basil.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Stuffed aubergines
Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise. Sprinkle a layer of salt on the cut surfaces
and leave to sit for an hour. Scrape the salt off with a knife and put a layer
of stuffing made from chopped sun-dried tomato, olive oil, garlic and basil
on one half. Put the other half on top and wrap the aubergines tightly in foil.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Stewed apples with raisins
Try to remove the cores from the apples without going all the way through the
bottom of the fruit. Stuff the fruits with raisins, mixed with a little lemon
juice and cinnamon. Put a little piece of butter on top of the stuffing.
Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Bananas with chocolate
These can be very messy. Kids will love them. Leave the skin on the bananas.
Make a slit through the skin and into the flesh on the inside of the curve of
the banana. Stuff a couple of squares of chocolate into the banana and wrap
in foil. Make sure the seam is on the same side as the slit and sit the bananas
in the fire with the seams upwards.
Cook for 10-15 minutes.
Baked sweetcorn
Very simple. Leave the leaves on the cobs if there are any and wrap the cobs
in foil. Add butter, salt etc. when they have cooked.
Cook for 20-25 minutes.
Stuffed mushrooms
Use only the caps from some large mushrooms. If you're into collecting wild
mushrooms, try this with ceps. Make a stuffing from breadcrumbs, garlic, olive
oil and chopped walnuts with a little salt and black pepper. Cook the caps upside
down (stuffing upwards) for 15 -20 minutes.
Stuffed tomatoes
Cut out the stem part of the tomatoes and scoop the insides out with a tea-spoon.
Stuff with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated cheese and finely chopped onion.
Season with a little oregano or basil.
Cook for 20-25 minutes.