Tiny Kitchen, Gourmet Cooking

By Rebecca Blackwell

IN SEPTEMBER 2018, I spent a week in Italy cooking for a yoga retreat. We stayed on an old Tuscan vineyard in cottages that were originally built in the 1500s for farmhands and their families, and the kitchens were tiny. I was immediately overwhelmed at the thought of all the women who, for hundreds of years, had prepared meals in that same space.

The experience was humbling in the same way I feel humbled by travel itself. It connected me to the vastness of life on this planet beyond my own small existence.

The kitchen itself was about the size of a dining room table. It had a 2-burner stove and a finicky oven similar in size to one you might find in an RV. It wasn’t the first tiny kitchen I’d cooked in, but it solidified a truth that would come in handy just a couple of years later—the size of a kitchen has little relevance to the quality or quantity of the food that comes out of it.

Fast forward to April 2020—my husband and I had just sold our house of 16 years and moved into a 43-foot fifth wheel toy hauler. In comparison to many RV kitchens, mine is humongous. But compared to the kitchen in our former suburban house, it is absurdly tiny, especially for someone who makes a living as a recipe developer and food photographer.

Luckily, my previous experience in tiny kitchens had taught me that creativity, high quality ingredients, and organization are much more important than the size of your kitchen.

Since moving into our RV, I’ve cooked my way across 14 states, created and published more than 100 recipes, and hosted gatherings with as few as two guests and as many as 40.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far about cooking and baking in a tiny kitchen on wheels.

#1 I always need all the space I have, even when I don’t. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that nature abhors a vacuum. I always need all the money I make and all the space I have. Somehow, even when I let go of commitments, I still manage to fill up all my time.

For me, the only way to need less of anything is to limit what’s available. That plethora of kitchen appliances, pans, and dishes I had been collecting over the years? Turns out I don’t miss them at all.

Creativity, high quality ingredients, and organization are much more important than the size of your kitchen.

#2 You can make almost anything with just a few pots, pans, and baking dishes. The most anyone needs to make pretty much anything is a skillet and three saucepans—small, medium, and large. And honestly, you could get by perfectly well without the small and large saucepans. Also useful, especially for bakers:

• A 9x13 rectangle baking dish, a 9-inch square baking dish, and a loaf pan

• A cookie sheet

• A cupcake / muffin pan

• One or two 8-inch round cake pans that are 3 inches deep

#3 Creative storage solutions are a must. RVers excel at maximizing space. I am constantly learning from other nomads who post photos of their creative storage solutions on social media. Here are three ideas that have worked well in our tiny kitchen:

Using the space under cabinets—I didn’t want to give up mugs or wine glasses, but didn’t have the cupboard space for either. The solution was to hang them underneath our upper cabinets. The mugs are suspended on simple hooks. The wine glass rack is a genius design created by my brother—it holds eight bottles of wine and six glasses, all nestled in felt-lined compartments so they’re secure during travel.

A flat spice rack built on the outside of one of the cabinets—another genius design by my brother.

Adding a couch and ottoman with storage—soon after moving into our fifth wheel, we removed the typical RV-style couch and replaced it with a couch and ottoman from Home Reserve. Besides loving the look and feel of our new sofa, we also love that there is storage in each seat, as well as the ottoman. People always laugh when I tell them our ottoman is full of baking supplies, but it’s true!

#4 Living in a small space doesn’t mean we can’t entertain! Since moving into our fifth wheel, we’ve hosted many small and large gatherings, with as many as 40 guests. There’s been a substantial amount of trial and error in figuring out what works for larger groups, but here’s what I’ve learned so far:

Soups, stews, and casseroles are great for feeding a crowd. They are easy to serve and keep warm, don’t require separate serving dishes, and can be made ahead of time. Also, aside from maybe a salad and some bread, they don’t require a bunch of side dishes.

Stick to finger food for dessert. Cookies, bars, brownies, and cupcakes are ideal. Avoid things that require slicing and plating.

I opt for paper plates when entertaining a crowd, but I draw the line at plastic utensils. To save drawer space, I keep a container for utensils on the countertop with easy access to knives, forks, and spoons for 36 people.

Set up an outside drink station on a folding table. Serve the food inside and the drinks outside.

Yes, hosting a party in an RV is crowded and chaotic. So what?

Everyone you invite knows what they’re getting into, and honestly, the sheer madness of all those people in a tiny space is part of the fun.

#5 Concentrated ingredients are a major space saver. These four ingredients have become indispensable to me because they pack a powerful punch, keep for weeks in the refrigerator, and take up very little space:

Pomegranate molasses: It’s fabulous in salad dressings and cocktails; brushed over beef, pork, chicken, or veggies; and used in marinades. You can make it yourself or purchase a bottle in specialty shops or online.

Browned butter: Browned butter is easy to make and will seriously up your baking game. It keeps for weeks in the fridge and is fabulous drizzled over pasta or roasted veggies.

Better Than Boullion: Better Than Bouillon is a concentrated paste in a tiny jar made of cooked meat or vegetables that you dilute with boiling water and use in place of stock. Chicken, beef, vegetable, mushroom, and onion are in my refrigerator at all times.

Aleppo pepper oil. Pour one cup of extra virgin olive oil into a skillet and stir in 1/3 cup Aleppo pepper, which you can order online. Heat until the oil begins to simmer, then turn off the burner. Let cool and store in an airtight container. Even better, fry some chopped garlic in olive oil until crispy and dump that into the same container. You can drizzle this on eggs, soups, tacos, toast, and sandwiches, or stir it into salad dressing.

Don’t double up on appliances. Our fifth wheel came with an outdoor kitchen equipped with a tiny refrigerator and a two-burner gas stove. Since we already have a refrigerator and gas stovetop inside the rig, we replaced the outdoor ones with a Blackstone griddle and Traeger smoker, doubling our options for what we want to cook with.

GOURMET RECIPE: Red Lentil Soup with Aleppo Pepper Oil

This simple, delicious recipe is one of my favorite things to make when we’re boondocking or entertaining a group. The soup is simple, mostly requires pantry items, and will be on the table in less than an hour.

3 tbsp. salted butter

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 ½ tbsp. tomato paste

2 tbsp. smoked paprika

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 cup red lentils

¼ cup long grain rice

1 ½ tsp. salt (more to taste)

¾ lb. ham, chopped into bite size pieces

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ tbsp. Aleppo pepper

1 large lemon

¾ cup fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped

1. Add butter and chopped onion to a large saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5–6 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer.

2. Add tomato paste, paprika, and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

3. Stir in lentils, rice, 5 cups water, 2 tsp. salt, and the pieces of ham. Raise the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan, and let simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft and breaking down. Lift the lid to stir from time to time and adjust heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.

4. While the soup simmers, add the olive oil and Aleppo pepper to a small skillet and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2–3 minutes, until the oil comes to a rapid simmer. Remove from the heat and let stand until ready to serve.

5. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in about 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Taste, and add more salt and lemon juice if desired.

6. Serve soup in bowls topped with a drizzle of Aleppo pepper chili oil and a sprinkle of fresh, chopped parsley.

Rebecca Blackwell @ofbatteranddough