Salsa and Corn Dumpling Soup

NOtes

This is a spicy tomato-based broth that gets covered in cornmeal batter dumplings. In each bite you get a subtly sweet starch layer followed by hot and spicy broth that will satisfy any ravenous hiker.

The salsa can be pretty basic, just fresh tomatoes, cilantro, salt and lime that I pureed in a food processor and dehydrated. If you don’t have access to a dehydrator, you can purchase dehydrated bell peppers and dehydrated salsa. Substitute the amounts called for in the recipe with 3 tablespoons dehydrated bell pepper and 3 tablespoons dehydrated salsa.

This recipe was provided by Dirty Gourmet and is modified from the standby Backpacking recipe book Simple Foods for the Pack.

YIELD

• 2 generous servings

PREP TIME / COOK TIME

• 10 minutes (not including dehydrating) / 15–20 minutes

TOOLS

Ladle, large pot, stove, long handle spoon

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup tomato powder

• 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 to 3 teaspoons dried cilantro

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, divided

• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

• 1 bell pepper, diced and dehydrated (optional)

• 1/4 cup dehydrated black beans (optional

• 1 cup blended tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeños, dehydrated (optional)

• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/4 cup milk powder

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated

METHOD

At Home

Combine soup dry ingredients in a quart size ziplock bag (tomato powder, dried onion flakes, dried bell pepper & salsa, beans, garlic powder, cilantro, oregano, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, red chili flakes).

Combine dumpling dry ingredients in a quart size ziplock bag (cornmeal, flour, milk powder, baking powder, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin and parmesan cheese).

At Camp

Pour 4 cups of water into a pot and bring to boil. Add soup ingredients to the water and lower heat to a simmer.

Add 1/2 cup of water to dumpling ziplock bag and seal. Knead the contents of the bag until dough is evenly mixed. It will be a thick sticky batter.

Spoon batter directly on top of the simmering broth and cover for 10 minutes. Don’t peek!

The dumplings are ready when they are puffed up and cooked through the middle. Cook for 5 additional minutes if the middle still seems doughy. When you look into the pot, your dumplings will probably have converged into one delicious cornbread-like pillow over the soup. Ladle into bowls and enjoy. As a bonus, I sliced in some left over sausage.