Bivouac Corail Lentils with Coquillettes
Small pasta and red lentils in one pot, thickened with polenta. Home-packed, no freeze-dried pouch.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 22 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Coquillettes or other small pasta | 2/3 cup | small shapes cook fastest and use less fuel |
|---|---|---|
| Red lentils | 1/3 cup | corail lentils, they break down in about ten minutes |
| Instant polenta | 2 tbsp | for thickening at the end |
| Dried onion and garlic flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | check the label if you want it vegan |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt, pepper, dried herbs | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Drop in the bouillon, onion, garlic, and lentils.
- Simmer four minutes, then add the pasta. Stir often so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Cook another eight minutes, until the lentils have collapsed and the pasta is soft.
- Cut the heat. Sprinkle in the polenta a spoonful at a time, stirring, until it stops being soupy.
- Pour the oil over the top, season, and let it sit two minutes off the stove.
Red lentils and small pasta finish in roughly the same window, which is why they share a pot here. The lentils dissolve as they cook and do most of the thickening work; the polenta at the end is there to catch whatever water is left instead of pouring it out. Draining pasta on a slope, in the dark, is how you lose dinner.
Everything is dry goods from a supermarket, so it packs cheap and leaves no foil pouch to carry out. Fat is the weak point: pasta and lentils are lean, and without the oil this reads as a thin bowl rather than a day’s end meal. Bouillon does the seasoning, so bring an extra cube if you like it salty after a long day.
Packing
Pasta, lentils, polenta, and dried aromatics go in one bag. Polenta can ride in its own small bag if you want to control how thick it gets. Oil and bouillon separate.
Variations
- A packet of tomato paste turns this into a bolognaise-style pot.
- Swap the pasta for couscous and cut cook time to about five minutes.
- A handful of dried mushrooms added with the lentils adds depth for almost no weight.
https://happytrek.fr/randonnee/repas-de-bivouac-legers-et-rapides