Trail-style meat stew with the Wilderness Leadership School
A little while ago, Jill and I were fortunate enough to do the 5-day iMfolozi Wilderness Trail with the Wilderness Leadership School. Now, while there is so much about that trip that is worth mentioning, one thing that really stuck out to us was the food. We ate like absolute kings! So we went over to the Wilderness Leadership School headquarters in the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve to find out how they manage to put on such a spread with virtually a pot and an open fire. Check out the video to see what happened…
Keen to give this recipe a try? Here are all the instructions below. And if you want to learn more about campfire cooking check out this post right here: A complete guide to campfire cooking
Trail-style Meat Stew recipe.
Ingredients:
- A little cooking oil.
- 1 bag of putu (maize meal).
- A handful of meal corn (baby corn).
- A handful of green beans.
- A sachet of tomato paste.
- A sachet of Creamy Stroganoff sauce.
- 2 sweet potatoes.
- 2 carrots.
- 2 baby marrows.
- 1 butternut.
- A handful of string beans.
- 1 green pepper.
- 1 onion.
- A few cloves of garlic.
- A packet of biltong.
- Garlic and herb spices.
Cooking instructions:
Prepare 2 pots by coating them with a paste of damp clay or bar soap. This will protect them from blackening on the open flames.
Next get a nice warm fire going.
Put 2-3 cups of water (3 cups per kg of maize meal) into one of the pots and get it on the flames to boil.
While that’s happening, chop the veggies into nice thick chunks and dice your onions and garlic. By the time you’ve done all this, the water should be boiling and you’re ready to make the putu.
Putu
Once the water is boiling, pour in the bag of maize meal and stir well. Be sure to control your fire and ensure that it is not too big. Cook the putu for about 20-30 minutes. When it gets nice and fluffy it should be ready to go.
Meat Stew
Start by pouring in a dash of oil and add the garlic and herb spices. Fry the onions and garlic until brown.
Next add all the hard veggies and a cup of water. Let the pot boil for roughly 30-40 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, Creamy Stroganoff sauce and the biltong with a dash of water.
Put the lid back on and leave the pot cooking for another 5-10 minutes.
Test the veggies to make sure they are firm but cooked and you’re ready to plate up!
The guys at the Wilderness Leadership School have got this process down to a fine art so have fun with this recipe at home, or better still, enjoy a bowl of meat stew on a rocky outcrop overlooking the iMfolozi Wilderness area. Either way, it’s going to be delicious.
Check out a few more of our favourite campfire cooking recipes down below:
A complete guide to campfire cooking
Our Favourite Pot Bread Recipe (Dutch Oven Bread) | Campfire-style






Leadership School is it possible to do something like this in the west coast Lambert’s bay area
Contact Person: Carol Burger 083 458 1575 / carol@mtnloaded.co.za
Arendzicht & Eagle’s Nest Accommodation
117 Voortrekker Street, Lambertsbaai
Western Cape, South Africa
GPS co-ordinates: -32.09002297196564, 18.30978589814754
Do you think they cater for vegetarians? Eeeeeeeekkkkkk
Hey Christy
They most certainly do. You just let them know your dietary requirements and they’ll cater for you.