Editorial: Kockums JernverkPublished: 2026-11-06

Campfire tomato, pepper and mushroom stew

Name: Campfire tomato, pepper and mushroom stew
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Swedish
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 250 g chestnut or button mushrooms; 1 onion; 2 red peppers; 1 orange pepper; 3 garlic cloves; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp dried thyme or oregano; 4 tomatoes; 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g); 100 ml water; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 handful fresh parsley or basil; Bread, to serve

Serves 4 · 45 minutes · Ergonomic frying pan

A vegetarian stew made in a single pan on a grate over the embers. Carbon steel takes the direct heat, so the mushrooms and peppers brown properly before the tomatoes go in.

Campfire stew is a simple vegetarian one-pan dish of fried mushrooms, onion and peppers simmered with tomatoes and smoked paprika over an open fire. It is best cooked over an even bed of embers rather than tall flames, with the vegetables browned well before the tomatoes are added.

Stew of tomatoes, red and orange peppers, mushrooms and onion in an ergonomic carbon steel frying pan on a grate over a campfire

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
250 g chestnut or button mushrooms
1 onion
2 red peppers
1 orange pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried thyme or oregano
4 tomatoes
1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g)
100 ml water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh parsley or basil
Bread, to serve

Method

Light the fire in good time and let it burn down to an even bed of embers under the grate. Prep the vegetables at home if you like: halve the mushrooms, cut the onion into wedges, the peppers into chunks, the garlic into slices and the tomatoes into wedges.
Set the pan on the grate and heat the oil. Fry the mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and peppers and fry, stirring, for 5–7 minutes until softened and lightly coloured.
Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika and thyme and let them sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the fresh tomatoes, the tinned tomatoes and the water.
Simmer for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until thickened. Move the pan towards the edge of the grate if it bubbles too hard. Season with salt and pepper.
Scatter over the herbs and serve straight from the pan with bread. Use a grill glove or a thick oven cloth, as the steel handle gets very hot over the fire.
Take out any leftovers straight away, rinse the pan while it is warm, let it dry on the grate and wipe it with a thin layer of oil before packing it away.

Why it works

Carbon steel handles the direct heat of the embers and responds quickly when you move it on the grate, so you control the heat by where you place the pan. The ergonomic handle is solid steel, with nothing the fire can damage.