A motorhome or campervan is inevitably smaller than the kitchen you use at home. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as you will find that all you need is close at hand. With only two or three gas burners and perhaps a grill or small oven, you need to think simple but tasty, especially if you are cooking for two to four people. 

Go for meals that require just one pot, or possibly two. Imagine a grill and oven that cooks half of what you are used to cooking at home. But this doesn’t mean you need to survive on beans on toast all holiday!

You may think you have to compromise or ration a few things. Here is everything you will need to debunk that myth and take on the challenge of eating delicious, fresh food, including a shopping list for simple one pot recipes. The shopping list is designed so that many of the base ingredients are used in several of the recipes. All can easily be made vegetarian, in which case a good dollop of Marmite can be added to provide some extra flavouring. Any of the fish, meat or veg can be substituted for the things you like best. All the meals serve two.

Shopping List

• 300g white fish
• 6 chicken thighs or 4 breasts
• 250g lean beef mince
• halloumi or feta cheese
• 100g cheddar cheese
• 2x 400g tin of tomatoes
• 400g tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce
• small tin of sweetcorn
• tomato puree
• 500g passata
• olives
• 170g pasta
• white or brown rice
• tortillas or pitta bread 
• red wine
• Worcestershire sauce
• balsamic or red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• chilli powder
• ground cumin
• dried thyme
• chicken oxo
• beef oxo
• herbs de Provence
• salt and pepper
• sugar
• 5 onions
• 4 peppers
• 3 carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 parsnip
• 1 garlic bulb
• button mushrooms

Fish Tagine

Serves 2

• 300g white fish fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (or to taste)
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 pepper, seeded & sliced
• 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp sugar
• a dash of Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper

Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces. In a pan with a lid, heat olive oil and sauté red onion and spices. Add the pepper, tomatoes and herbs. Then add vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar, and cover. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until the pepper is tender. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Bury the fish pieces into the vegetable mix, season with salt and pepper, cover and gently cook until fish is cooked through. You can substitute the fish for chicken if you prefer meat, or replace it with butternut squash or other vegetables if you are vegetarian.

Pasta

Serves 2

• 6 ounces uncooked whole-wheat pasta
• 1 onion
• sweetcorn
• olives
• pepper
• 2 thick slices halloumi or feta cheese
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• Optional: Tomato 

For the sauce:

• passata  
• 1 tbsp tomato puree 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp vinegar 
• 1 tsp sugar  
• a good dash of Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tsp herbs de Provence
• or a large jar of ready-made tomato pasta sauce (you may need to add more water as the pasta cooks)

Heat the olive oil to a medium heat in a large pan, add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Add the pepper, cook for 2 minutes, then add the olives and sweetcorn. Stir well and add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add the passata. Half fill the passata container with water and add to pan. Add tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Add the pasta and a good sprinkle of pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently until pasta is cooked - about 10-15 minutes depending on the type of pasta. Serve immediately. Cut the halloumi or feta into bite-sized pieces and add on top. You can grill, fry or bake the halloumi first to give it extra flavour.

One pot Chicken and Rice

Serves 2

• 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, or 2 breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 carrots diced
• 4 button mushrooms sliced
• 1 clove garlic grated
• ¾ pint chicken stock made with one or two oxo cubes
• small glass red wine
• 1/4 cup uncooked white or brown rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp thyme
• 3 tsp herbs de Provence
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat for about a minute. Add the chunks of chicken, and cook for about 7 minutes, in batches if necessary. Add the onion, mushrooms and carrots, and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper; cook for another minute. Add wine and cook for two minutes. Add the chicken stock and rice, and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, stir, cover and cook for about 20 minutes on a low heat. add more liquid if necessary. Remove from heat, and leave for about 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and serve immediately.

Tortilla Pizza 

Serves 2

• tortillas or pitta
• tomato puree
• herbs de Provence
• cheddar cheese
• 4 tsp olive oil
• olives
• red pepper

(Toppings can be adjusted to suit)

Heat a frying pan to medium heat, and add the olive oil. Spread tortilla or pitta with tomato puree and sprinkle with herbs. Once the oil is hot, place the tortilla or pitta in the pan. Add the cheese and other toppings. Cover the pan with a lid, plate or tin foil and heat until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Chilli

Serves 2

• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250g minced beef
• 100ml red wine
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 250ml beef stock made using a beef oxo cube
• 400g can kidney beans in chilli sauce
• 1sp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup

Peel and chop the onion, then peel and finely grate the garlic. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, then add the onions and garlic and fry for 5 minutes until soft. Add the beef to the pan and fry for 5 minutes until browned. Add the chilli, cumin and a little of the stock, fry for 1 minute. Add the tomato purée and fry for a further minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and stock, stir to combine, then add the ketchup. Simmer gently uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the kidney beans to the chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes, until heated through. 

Coq au "Van"

Serves 2

• 2 chicken breasts or 3 thighs
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 parsnip
• a few button mushrooms
• 4 tsp herbs de Provence
• large tsp thyme
• large glass red wine
• 1 pint of chicken stock made using chicken oxo
• 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• a dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Warm the oil to a medium heat and brown the chicken - depending on the size of the pan you may need to do this in batches. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, before adding the vinegar and a little water. Give it a good stir to get all the flavour from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and allow to boil for a couple of minutes. Add all the veg, herbs and chicken stock, bring to the boil and turn down to a low heat. Add Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until the chicken and veg are cooked through and tender, for a minimum of 30 mins. The longer you allow it to cook, the more the flavour will develop - add more water, wine or stock if necessary to prevent it from drying out. For vegetarians use more veg and vegetable stock instead of the chicken. 

If you try any of the above recipes we'd love to see photos of the results!