French Lentil Salad – Dehydrated Trail Meal – Cold Soak Friendly

This French lentil salad, adapted as a dehydrated backpacking meal, was the result of a chance visit to a tacky tourist shop on a road trip last summer. We were camped near Mont-Dore in the Massif Central—a region better known for hiking boots and ski lifts than culinary pilgrimage—when we stumbled upon a bag of genuine Puy lentils tucked between novelty cheese boards and saucisson wrapped in faux-rustic twine.

Mont-Dore centreville is essentially a strip of shops that feels designed to separate tourists from their euros, but every so often, between the tat, you find something worth the detour. In this case: lentils. Lentilles du Puy, to be exact. And if you know me, you know how much I love using lentils in dehydrated meals.

The Lentil That Holds AOC Status

Here’s what I didn’t know until that trip: Puy lentils hold Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status, the same protected designation given to Champagne and Roquefort. Only lentils grown in the volcanic soils around Le Puy-en-Velay can legally claim the name. They’re prized for their peppery flavour, firm texture, and their miraculous ability to hold their shape through cooking—no mush, no collapse. Just tender, distinct little lenses that sit beautifully in a salad.

And here’s the plot twist: those “puy lentils” you see in UK supermarkets? Most of them aren’t AOC at all. They’re green lentils, labelled “puy” for convenience or familiarity. They’ll still work perfectly well in this recipe, and TBH, I couldn’t tell a huge different between these AOC puy lentils vs the ones I buy at Waitrose. I’ll do a side by side comparison one of these days!

A Hiker-Friendly Salad with French Soul

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen, and it’s about as forgiving as a recipe gets. You boil lentils with vegetables, drain them, toss them in a simple vinaigrette, then finish with herbs, nuts, and cheese. We didn’t have Dijon mustard when we made it—an oversight considering we were practically next door to Dijon—but honestly? It was still awesome!

This French lentil salad is good warm or cold, packs well, and with a few tweaks, works great as a dehydrated meal option. Lentils dehydrate and rehydrate exceptionally well, holding their texture without turning to mush, and they’re packed with protein and fibre — exactly what you need to keep going on a long day out. Add in the healthy fats from the walnuts and olive oil, and you’ve got a genuinely nutritious trail meal that takes almost no effort to put together at camp.

Cold Soak or Cook — Your Call

For a cold soak, add the lentil mix to your water bottle or container first thing in the morning, cover with cold water, seal it up, and throw it in your pack. By the time you stop for lunch, it’ll be ready — no stove, no faff. Just add your olive oil, cheese, and walnuts and eat. If you’d rather have something warm, the hot water method works just as well: cover with boiling water, lid on, 10–15 minutes and you’re there.

French Lentil Salad – Dehydrated Trail Meal – Cold Soak Friendly

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Servings: 2

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the dehydrated base

• 1½ cups Puy lentils or green lentils
• 1 red pepper finely diced
• 1 carrot peeled and finely diced
• 1 small red onion finely diced
• 1 stick celery finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves sliced

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard optional
• ¾ –1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Skip or minimise oil at this stage—add it fresh at camp instead.

To pack separately

• 50 –70g goat cheese or feta
• A handful of chopped walnuts
• Small bottle of olive oil
• Optional: extra vinegar sachet

Method

 

At home:

1. At Home: Cook & Dehydrate
2. Cook the lentils
3. Rinse the lentils, then simmer in plenty of water. After 15 minutes, add the diced vegetables and garlic. Cook for another 5–10 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape.
4. Season while warm
5. Drain well, then toss with vinegar, mustard (if using), salt, and pepper. Taste—it should be slightly sharper and more seasoned than you’d expect.
6. Dehydrate
7. Spread thinly on dehydrator trays. Dry at 57–63°C for 8–12 hours, until completely dry and brittle.
8. Pack
9. Store in an airtight bag or jar. Keep the cheese, nuts, and oil separate.

On the trail:

1. Tip the lentil mix into your pot or bowl (obviously use a leak proof container if you want to cold soak and carry this in your pack for a few hours).
2. Add just enough cold water OR boiling water to cover.
3. For cold soak, give it 2-3 hours to fully rehydrate. For boiling water method, wait about 10 minutes and you'll be there. Either way, give a stir after rehydrating and dive into your garnishes.

Garnish if you'd like with:

1. A generous glug of olive oil
2. Crumbled goat cheese
3. Chopped walnuts
4. Taste and adjust—more salt, more vinegar, more oil. It can take it.

Notes from the Trail

• This is as good warm as it is just-about-lukewarm, eaten with a view.
• It pairs well with flatbread, oatcakes, or whatever survived the bottom of your pack.
• If you’re feeling organised, a sprinkle of dried parsley added before dehydrating lifts everything.

And if you happen to be somewhere vineyard-adjacent, even better.

Variations

• Add couscous before drying for a more substantial meal
• Stir through dried mushrooms or roasted aubergine for depth
• Swap walnuts for toasted hazelnuts or sunflower seeds
• Use blue cheese instead of goat cheese for something sharper

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