Prawn, Corn and Lime Foil Parcels in the Campfire Coals

There is a particular kind of camp dinner that earns its place on a warm night: the sort that takes one bowl, one roll of foil, and ten minutes on the coals. This is that dinner. Prawns, sweet corn and lime, sealed into a parcel and steamed in their own buttery juices until the prawns curl and go opaque.

It also solves the worst job in camp cooking. There is no pan to scrub, no fat to chase off a hotplate, and if you eat straight out of the foil, no plates either. Late spring is exactly when this belongs in the rotation, when the evenings are warm enough to sit outside and nobody wants to spend an hour over a stove.

What you need

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 800 g raw prawns, peeled, tails left on
• 2 corn cobs, kernels sliced off (about 2 cups)
• 2 limes, one juiced and one cut into wedges
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 60 g butter, softened, or 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 long red chilli, finely sliced (leave it out if you're feeding kids)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper
• A small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 cup cooked rice or a sliced sourdough loaf, to serve

Gear

• A campfire with an established bed of coals, lit 45 minutes ahead
• Heavy-duty foil, four sheets about 40 cm long
• Long tongs and a pair of heatproof gloves
• A small bowl for the butter mix
• A knife and a board

How to make it

1. Get the fire right first. Light it 45 minutes before you want to eat. You are cooking on coals, not flames, so wait until the timber has collapsed into a bed of grey-edged orange embers.
2. Mix the flavour base. In the small bowl, mash the softened butter with the crushed garlic, lime juice, smoked paprika, chilli, salt and pepper until it's a rough paste.
3. Prep the corn. Stand each cob on its end and slice the kernels off, keeping them in a pile. Frozen corn works fine here and thaws in minutes.
4. Lay out the foil. Cut four sheets about 40 cm long and double them up if your foil is the thin supermarket kind. A single layer will split on hot coals.
5. Build the parcels. Spread a quarter of the corn in the centre of each sheet, leaving a 5 cm border. Pile a quarter of the prawns on top, then spoon over a quarter of the butter mix and scatter with spring onion.
6. Seal them properly. Bring the long edges together and fold over three or four times, then roll the ends in tightly. Leave a small pocket of air inside so the steam has somewhere to go.
7. Onto the coals. Sit the parcels directly on the embers, seam side up. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once at the five-minute mark with the tongs.
8. Check at eight minutes. Carefully open one parcel at the edge. The prawns should be opaque and curled into a C shape, and the corn tender. If the prawns are still translucent, reseal and give it another two minutes.
9. Rest, then open away from you. Take the parcels off the fire and rest for two minutes. Open them facing away from your body, because the steam that comes out is fierce.
10. Finish and serve. Squeeze over the lime wedges, scatter the coriander, and eat with rice or bread to soak up the juices.

Camp tips

• Buy prawns frozen and let them thaw in the fridge on the second day of the trip. They'll be perfect by the time you cook them, and frozen prawns travel better than fresh in a 12V setup.
• No prawns? Firm white fish cut into 3 cm chunks works in exactly the same time. So does halloumi for a vegetarian version, though give it 12 minutes rather than 8.
• Add a tablespoon of coconut milk to the butter mix and a teaspoon of curry powder for a softer, curry-ish version that goes well with rice.
• Leftovers make a very good next-day wrap: chop the prawns through, add mayonnaise and shredded cabbage, and you have lunch without lighting the fire.
• Don't stack the parcels on top of each other. They need contact with the coals and a bit of space for the steam to escape.

One last thing

The trick with this one is keeping the cold chain honest before you cook it. Prawns are the least forgiving thing in the esky, which is why we run them frozen and buried at the bottom of the 12V fridge rather than in a bag of ice that turns to water by lunchtime. If you're rebuilding that side of your setup, the 12V accessories range covers the plugs, leads and adapters that keep a fridge running properly off the auxiliary battery.

Give the parcels ten minutes and no more. Overcooked prawns go rubbery fast, and the whole appeal of this dinner is that it's over before anyone has time to get impatient.