Thermos Jar Couscous and Red Lentils
Boiled at the trailhead, eaten four hours later at whatever rock you stop on.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 142
- protein
- 20 g
- serves
- 1
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 8 min
- water
- 400 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.
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Couscous | 1/2 cup | the fine instant kind, not pearl |
|---|---|---|
| Split red lentils | 1/4 cup | split only; whole lentils will not soften |
| Dried vegetable flakes | 3 tbsp | carrot, onion, bell pepper |
| Sun-dried tomato | 2 tbsp | snipped small with scissors |
| Vegetable bouillon | 1 cube | |
| Cumin and smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Boil 400 ml of water on the stove. Get it to a real rolling boil, not steaming.
- Dump the dry bag into a 0.55 L vacuum food jar, pour the water over it, and stir once with a long spoon.
- Add the olive oil, seal the lid, and put the jar upright in your pack.
- Leave it alone for at least three hours. Four is better. The lentils need the whole window.
- Stir before eating. If it is stiff, add a splash of cold water and stir again.
A vacuum food jar is a slow cooker that weighs nothing to operate. Boiling water sealed into an insulated container stays hot enough for hours, and that is exactly the window fine couscous and split red lentils need to go soft without a stove. You spend five minutes of fuel in the morning and get a hot lunch with no cooking at midday.
Preheating matters more than people expect. Cold steel steals a lot of heat from the first pour, and below a certain temperature the lentils stall out half-hydrated. The oil goes in at the start rather than the end so it carries the cumin and paprika through the whole jar instead of sitting on top.
Packing
Everything dry except the oil goes into one bag at home. Preheat the jar with a first pour of boiling water, dump it, then do the real pour. That preheat is worth ten minutes of hydration time.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna stirred in at lunch adds 20 g of protein and no carry weight worth arguing about.
- Swap the couscous for instant polenta if you need it gluten free. Same water, same wait.
https://primusequipment.com/products/flinta-insulated-lunch-jug-0-55-l-2