Recipe | Campfire Salmon

You don’t need to catch your fish for it to taste just better when eaten on the beach

This campfire salmon with tomato skewers is just the ticket for an impromptu day spent at the beach. It’s best eaten with windswept hair and mopped up with crusty bread after. 

Serves 4 

4 salmon fillets 

Salt and pepper 

1 lemon, sliced 

A punnet of cherry tomatoes 

Olive oil to drizzle 

1 Take two pieces of foil big enough to wrap the fish in. Place them on top of each other and place the salmon fillets in the middle. 

2 Season the salmon with salt and pepper then cover with lemon slices. Wrap the foil over the fish making sure there aren't any holes or gaps. 

3 Using wooden skewers, thread the cherry tomatoes onto the sticks, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a wire griddle over the fire – above the burning embers and away from the flames – and place your skewers on top, turning regularly until they begin to blacken. 

4 Meanwhile, place the foil salmon packet directly in the fire and flip roughly every 5 mins, cooking for around 25 mins, or until the fish is fully cooked. Serve with the tomato skewers and home-baked soda bread. 

Cook’s note: Soak your wooden skewers before using to stop them from charring and bring an old wire rack to balance on the fire to make cooking quicker. 

This recipe is part of our Gathering feature, Bright and Breezy, from our April issue, a complete guide to having an impromptu spring day by the sea. Alongside campfire and picnic recipes, it also features ideas for enjoying the beach responsibly and games to play on the sand. Photography by Brent Darby Photography and Narratives Photo Agency.

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More from our April issue…

More campfire recipes…

Camping recipe | Smoky Boston beans & armadillo potatoes

No flames are required for this comfortingly simple cowboy supper of foil-wrapped herby spuds and a casserole of sweet, smoky beans – all of which is tucked into the hot, white coals to cook.

Serves 4
4 baking potatoes
30g salted butter
Handful of fresh thyme for the beans
1 tbsp olive oil
400g smoked bacon lardons
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2tsp English mustard powder
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp black treacle
2 x 400g tins haricot beans in water
Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Natural yogurt, to serve

1 Using a sharp knife, cut slits widthways into each potato, working your way along from end to end – be careful to only cut three-quarters of the way down. Rub each potato generously with butter and carefully stuff sprigs of thyme in between some of the slits.
2 Individually wrap each potato in a double layer of foil and place directly on white coals (when the flames have died), for 30–40 mins, turning every 10 mins.
3 Cook the beans in either a Dutch oven* on an open fire or in a large saucepan on a camping stove. Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and add the lardons, frying for 5 mins until they just start to brown. Add the onion and continue to cook until softened.
4 Add garlic, paprika, cumin and mustard powder; stir thoroughly before stirring through the tomato purée and treacle. Add the beans along with the water from their tins, then half fill one of the tins with extra water and add that to the pan also.
5 Bring the beans to a simmer and allow to cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened – around 10–20 mins, depending on how you’re cooking them. Before serving, scatter the parsley over the beans.
6 To test the potatoes, give them a gentle squeeze: if they feel soft, they’re ready. Carefully unwrap each one and serve with a generous helping of beans and a dollop of yogurt.

* A Dutch oven is a lidded cast-iron or earthenware casserole robust enough to cook in the coals.

Turn to page 38 of August's The Simple Things for more of our camping special.

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More from the August issue:

Camping recipes:

Recipe: Hardwick lamb curry in a hurry

Lamb curry and a decent beer is hard to beat. This is camping-friendly lamb curry doesn’t take hours and all goes in one pot. If you are in the Lake District, seek out Herdwick lamb and a local ale for a campsite meal to remember. Discover more in Pitch Up Eat Local by Ali Ray (AA Publishing). 

Herdwick Lamb Curry in a Hurry

Serves 4

vegetable oil
2 tsp each of ground turmeric and garam masala
1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander and chilli powder
500g lamb leg steak, cut into bite-sized cubes
a small handful of green beans (about 8), trimmed and cut in half
a bunch of spring onions, sliced, including the green bits
350g basmati rice
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
100ml vegetable stock (made with a cube)
a small bunch of fresh coriander (mint will also work nicely), chopped
salt and pepper
a big knob of butter

1 Heat a glug of oil in a large saucepan with a lid, and stir in the spices for a minute.

2 Add the lamb, beans and spring onions, and jostle them about in the pan so that the lamb browns, about 2 minutes.

3 Now add the rice to the pan, stir well, and then add the coconut milk and the stock.  Bring up to the boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer, put the lid on and leave for 10 minutes.

4 After 10 minutes, check that the rice has cooked, but don’t stir it. If it’s not done, let it cook for another couple of minutes.

5 When ready, stir in the fresh coriander (or mint), keeping a little back to garnish at the end.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the butter and gently stir through.

6 Serve with the remaining herbs sprinkled on top, accompanied by a good local ale. 

Read more: 

From the October issue

Camping recipes

Curry recipes

Recipe: Barbecue baked apples

This is a super-simple way to cook. Local apples are everywhere now, and are an easy but delicious dessert for campers.

BBQ Baked Apples

You’ll need a lidded barbecue to make this delicious apple dessert. Or it can be cooked in the embers of a campfire. 

Serves 4

4 eating apples
1 large knob of butter
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a handful each of sultanas and chopped nuts
2 tsp demerara sugar
a splash of booze if there’s some around (rum, brandy, cider but – NOT beer or wine!)

1Core the apples, leaving the bottom 2cm in if possible. If that’s too hard, take the whole core out, cut the bottom 2cm off the core and plug it back into the bottom of the apple. This is to stop all the melted butter flowing out later.

2Score a line around the centre of the apple.

3Put the butter, light brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Mix in the nuts and sultanas. Use your hands if it’s easier to blend it all up into a lumpy paste.

4Push some of the mixture into each apple until it’s all used up.

5Place each apple on the centre of a large double-thickness square of foil. Sprinkle a little demerara sugar and some rum or brandy (if using) over the top, then wrap each apple up tight in its own square of foil.

6Put the foil parcels on your barbecue away from the direct heat and close the lid. You’ll need to rotate the apples occasionally to enable them to cook evenly.

7They will take about 20 minutes to cook and go soft enough to eat (you don’t want them mushy), but this will depend on the size of apples and your heat source, so keep an eye on them. Serve with cream or plain yoghurt.

Recipe from Pitch Up, Eat Local by Ali Ray (AA Publishing with The Camping and Caravanning Club). 

Turn to page 72 of September's The Simple Things for Under Canvas, highlighting secluded, riverside camping pitches. On sale 29 August 2015.

Read more camping posts from The Simple Things...

• Recipes: The Picnic Loaf, Sunshine Hash, Campfire Beef & Beans
• How to pitch a tent like a pro
• Britain's best wild camping spots

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