Specials Board: Camp Dinner - Sausage & Bean Hotpot

I don't know why, but this recipe tastes better when cooked and eaten outside! Weird huh? 

Maybe it is just enjoyed more after spending the day outside dosing up on that vitamin D and when you've burned up calories after clocking up miles and miles on a view satisfying walk?

To make life simpler I have a couple of tips to share with you for this recipe too. Making this one pot cooking at its best.

Ingredients 

6 Vegan sausages*
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, cut into half moons
1 Red pepper, diced
½ Courgette, cut into half moons
125g Mushrooms, quartered
3½ Tsp Smoked Paprika**
½ Tsp Oregano**
¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper**
1 Tin Baked beans
150ml water
1 Tbsp Tomato puree

* Tip 1 - Make this your first camping meal and cook the vegan sausages at home. Leave to cool and wrap in sliver foil and place in your cooler. I used Linda McCartney sausages

** Tip 2 - Make up the spice mix before you leave home and store in a little jam jar so you don't need to take 3 jars of herbs and spices

Method
If you've not cooked the sausages at home, then fry in a saucepan over your stove until cooked and set aside.

Fry the onion in the olive oil for 3 mins or until translucent, add the pepper and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the courgette and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms and cooking for a further 2 minutes.

Add the herb and spice mixture and give everything a good stir. Add the baked beans and give everything another stir to combine all the vegetables.

The mixture will look a bit 'gloopy' so add the water to thin, don't worry if it looks ruined it won't be! Turn up the heat and bring everything to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly.

Add the tomato puree and give everything a good stir to mix in the puree. Cut up the sausages into 4 pieces and add to the pan. Cook for another 3-5 minutes to heat through the sausages and serve straight away.

If you have another stove ring you could serve this with rice, new potatoes or pasta. But don't worry if you just have the one ring you can serve it with couscous. Before you start cooking the hotpot, boil up some water and pour over the couscous as per the packet instructions. If you do this in a mess tin and cover with silver foil it should stay warm enough.