Name: Petit salé aux lentilles vertes du Berry
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 125 min
Total time: 870 min
Yield: 6 main-course servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 850 g demi-sel pork shoulder — boneless, rind-on, purchased weight; Expected cooked edible yield about 650 g after desalting and simmering.; 8000 ml cold water for desalting — divided into four 2,000 ml changes; Operational water; discarded after each change.; 1800 ml fresh water for simmering the pork — Cooking liquid is not all consumed; 300 ml is reserved to moisten the lentils at service.; 1 bay leaf; 5 g thyme sprigs; 1 clove; 10 g garlic — peeled; 400 g Lentilles vertes du Berry IGP — dry weight, rinsed; Do not substitute if the Berry identity is to be retained.; 1000 ml cold water for soaking the lentils — Discard after soaking.; 1000 ml fresh water for cooking the lentils; 300 g carrots — peeled and cut into 5 mm rounds; 250 g onions — peeled; one halved and one finely sliced; 15 ml olive oil; 60 g Dijon mustard — for serving; Mustard is included in nutrition and allergens.

Petit salé aux lentilles vertes du Berry — served on a plate

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 125 minutes

Total 870 minutes

Yield 6 main-course servings

Ingredients ↓

Introduction

Petit salé aux lentilles vertes du Berry — salt pork with Berry green lentils

Petit salé aux lentilles is a familiar French pairing, but the Berry identity matters here because the lentil is not interchangeable in name or character. Lentilles vertes du Berry carry IGP and Label Rouge recognition and are valued for a thin skin, a small green grain and good shape retention during cooking. In this preparation they are treated as a main ingredient, not a garnish beneath the pork.

The pork is a boneless, rind-on demi-sel shoulder rather than a fresh roast. Its first job is not browning but desalting: a long refrigerated soak with several water changes reduces excess curing salt before the meat reaches the stove. Gentle simmering then softens the shoulder while producing a savoury cooking liquor that can be measured back into the lentils at the end instead of letting the whole dish become unpredictably salty.

The lentils take a separate route. A short soak is timed to overlap the end of the pork simmer, then the lentils cook with carrot and softened onion in fresh water. That separation is the key to a clean result: the grains can become tender before they meet concentrated pork liquor, and the final seasoning can be judged with the actual cured meat rather than guessed in advance.

Serve the pork in slices with a generous spoonful of the lentil mixture and the measured Dijon mustard. The finished plate should feel substantial but not heavy with broth: distinct green lentils, sweet carrot, a little aromatic pork liquor and meat tender enough to cut easily.

Success points

Start the pork desalting far enough ahead that the full 12-hour refrigerated soak is not shortened.
Keep both pots at a gentle simmer; vigorous boiling roughens the lentils and tightens the pork.
Add only the measured 300 ml pork liquor to the lentils, then taste before making any further salt decision.

Ingredients

Pork and desalting

850 g demi-sel pork shoulder — boneless, rind-on, purchased weight; Expected cooked edible yield about 650 g after desalting and simmering.
8000 ml cold water for desalting — divided into four 2,000 ml changes; Operational water; discarded after each change.
1800 ml fresh water for simmering the pork — Cooking liquid is not all consumed; 300 ml is reserved to moisten the lentils at service.
1 bay leaf
5 g thyme sprigs
1 clove
10 g garlic — peeled

Berry lentils

400 g Lentilles vertes du Berry IGP — dry weight, rinsed; Do not substitute if the Berry identity is to be retained.
1000 ml cold water for soaking the lentils — Discard after soaking.
1000 ml fresh water for cooking the lentils
300 g carrots — peeled and cut into 5 mm rounds
250 g onions — peeled; one halved and one finely sliced
15 ml olive oil
60 g Dijon mustard — for serving; Mustard is included in nutrition and allergens.

Method

Desalt the pork

Desalt the shoulder. Place the 850 g pork shoulder in a non-reactive container, cover with 2,000 ml cold water and refrigerate. Replace with another 2,000 ml cold water three more times over the 12-hour desalting period. The final soaking water is noticeably less salty than the first change. Reduces excess curing salt without removing the regional salt-pork character. Keep the pork refrigerated throughout desalting and discard every water change.

Simmer the pork

Set a gentle pork simmer. Drain the pork, place it in a 4-litre pot with 1,800 ml fresh water, half the onion, garlic, bay, thyme and clove, bring just to a simmer and skim the surface. The pork is fork-tender and the cooking liquid remains at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil. Gentle heat tenderises the cured shoulder without tightening it. Keep raw pork utensils separate from vegetables and wash hands and surfaces after contact.

Cook the lentils

Time the lentil soak. While the pork has 30 minutes remaining, soak the 400 g lentils in 1,000 ml cold water for 30 minutes, then drain thoroughly. The lentils are evenly hydrated and drain without cloudy standing water. The short soak supports even cooking and runs concurrently with the pork simmer. Use clean water and a clean sieve; do not reuse pork desalting water.
Soften the onion. Warm 15 ml olive oil in a wide saucepan, soften the sliced onion for 5 minutes without browning, then add carrots, drained lentils and 1,000 ml fresh water. The onion is translucent and still pale. Avoiding browning keeps the lentil base clean and savoury. Keep the pan stable and turn handles away from the edge.
Simmer the Berry lentils. Bring the lentils to a gentle simmer, then cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally. Drain only if clearly soupy. The lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Separate lentil cooking prevents the cured pork from salting them too early. Taste for salt only after the pork cooking liquid is added.

Finish and serve

Bring the two parts together. Lift the pork from its pot, discard the aromatics, measure 300 ml of the pork cooking liquid and fold it through the lentil mixture. Slice the pork across the grain and portion with the lentils and 60 g mustard divided among the six plates. The lentils are moist but not soupy and each pork slice is tender enough to cut with a table knife. A measured broth portion carries the cured-pork flavour while keeping the lentils intact. Serve promptly; refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Serving, storage and make-ahead

Practical

Serving

Divide the pork into six portions and spoon the moist lentils alongside. Keep the mustard as a sharp table condiment rather than stirring it through the whole pan.

Make-ahead

Desalt the pork overnight. The cooked pork and lentils can be chilled together after cooking, but cool them promptly rather than leaving the pot at room temperature.

Storage and reheating

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 days. Reheat gently with a small splash of water until the whole portion is steaming, stirring the lentils carefully so they stay intact.

Adaptation

Another small green lentil can follow the same timing, but the result should not be presented as a Berry-lentil dish if the IGP product is not used.

Can the lentils cook in the pork pot from the start?

Keeping them separate gives better control over both texture and salt. They meet only after the lentils are tender.

Why is there no extra salt in the ingredient list?

The cured pork, measured broth and Dijon mustard already contribute substantial sodium. Taste only at the end.

Nutrition per serving

Serving sizeabout 108 g cooked pork + 210 g lentil mixture + 10 g mustard
Calories620 kcal
Carbohydrate52 g
Protein43 g
Fat26 g
Fibre15 g
Sodium1120 mg

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: Mustard. - Keep cured raw pork separate from ready-to-eat foods and wash hands, knives and boards after handling it. - Refrigerate during the entire 12-hour desalting period. - Do not season the lentils with extra salt before combining them with the pork broth. - Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Keep cured raw pork separate from ready-to-eat foods and wash hands, knives and boards after handling it.

Refrigerate during the entire 12-hour desalting period.

Do not season the lentils with extra salt before combining them with the pork broth.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Closing

Result: tender slices of cured pork with green lentils that remain recognisable and lightly coated in pork broth.
Decisive technique: desalinate the shoulder fully, then cook the lentils separately and add only a measured amount of pork liquor.