Lentils with Salt Pork
Tender lentils simmered with a piece of salt pork and aromatics: the humblest dish on the imperial table, deep and comforting, eaten quickly and without ceremony.
Tender lentils simmered with a piece of salt pork and aromatics: the humblest dish on the imperial table, deep and comforting, eaten quickly and without ceremony.
They imagine me seated each day before mountains of game and pyramids of sweets: nonsense. Give me a plate of lentils and a piece of bacon, and I am content; I dispatch it in ten minutes and return to my maps. A heavy stomach dulls the mind, and a soldier—even an emperor—must remain light and quick. Put in an onion, some bay leaf, a little patience over the fire: good fare is not in splendor, it is in what nourishes the working man.
- •Green lentils — two good handfuls (base)
- •Salt pork (petit salé) — a piece (fat and salt)
- •Onion — 1, studded with cloves (aromatic)
- •Carrot — 1 (sweetness)
- •Bay leaf and thyme — a bouquet (flavor)
Lentils with Salt Pork
Tender lentils simmered with a piece of salt pork and aromatics: the humblest dish on the imperial table, deep and comforting, eaten quickly and without ceremony.
Why this dish? Indifferent to gastronomy, Napoleon loved rustic, hearty dishes. Lentils, which he could eat in minutes between dispatches, embody his legendary frugality: a man who ruled Europe but ate like a corporal.
They imagine me seated each day before mountains of game and pyramids of sweets: nonsense. Give me a plate of lentils and a piece of bacon, and I am content; I dispatch it in ten minutes and return to my maps. A heavy stomach dulls the mind, and a soldier—even an emperor—must remain light and quick. Put in an onion, some bay leaf, a little patience over the fire: good fare is not in splendor, it is in what nourishes the working man.
Ingredients (period version)
- Green lentils — two good handfuls (base)
- Salt pork (petit salé) — a piece (fat and salt)
- Onion — 1, studded with cloves (aromatic)
- Carrot — 1 (sweetness)
- Bay leaf and thyme — a bouquet (flavor)
Ingredients
- Green lentils (Puy) — 300 g (base)
- Half-salt pork belly or petit salé — 250 g (fat and salt)
- Onion — 1, studded with 2 cloves (aromatic)
- Carrot — 1, diced (sweetness)
- Bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme) — 1 (flavor)
- Stock or water — 1 liter (cooking liquid)
Method
- If the pork is very salty, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Put the lentils (unsoaked) in a pot with the pork, clove-studded onion, carrot, and bouquet garni.
- Cover with cold water or stock, bring to a simmer, and cook gently for 30 to 35 minutes without adding salt initially.
- Check tenderness, adjust salt at the end, remove the onion and bouquet.
- Serve the lentils well softened with the pork sliced on top.
How it was made : In those days, lentils were cooked in the hearth, in a suspended cast-iron pot, with the rind and leftover cured meats that flavored the pot. Adding salt too early hardens the skin of legumes, so cooks reserved it for the end—a skill still valid today.
The contemporary twist : A spoonful of whole-grain mustard and a dash of wine vinegar at serving time wake up this simple dish and give it an edge.
Sources : Las Cases, Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène · Mémoires de Constant, premier valet de chambre de l'Empereur
Napoleon Bonaparte · Charactorium