This is a recipe from Fran Berman. I’m not sure who she is, but a friend gave me the recipe and it said it was from Fran Berman.
Ginger and Lentil Soup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
FRAN BERMAN’S GINGER AND LENTIL SOUP
Author: Cookie Madness
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound brown lentils
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
- 3 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh, peeled ginger root, diced or grated
- 3 to 4 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 2/3 cups water
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (vegetable)
- Fine sea salt to taste (I didn’t need any)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Dashes of balsamic vinegar to taste
Instructions
- Put the lentils in a colander. Rinse thoroughly under cool running water.
- In a 6-to-8-quart or larger heavy pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute until transparent. Add 2/3 cup water and the diced carrots and simmer a
- minute. Stir in the lentils, then add the stock and remaining 3 cups of water.
- Partly cover. Simmer over a low flame, stirring often, 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are cooked and the soup has the consistency of porridge.
- Remove from heat and cool briefly. Stir in salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to taste.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This sounds really good. Any idea how much balsamic vinegar you used??
Debbi, it really is to taste. My “dashes” when I make it are more like big, ol’ splashes, but I *really* like balsamic vinegar. When it tastes right to you, it’s enough.
Also, on the ginger, grate it if you like a more pronounced ginger flavor throughout, dice it if you want it a bit milder.
Glad you liked it, Anna! I have a pot of it in the fridge too, just waiting for me to get home.
I’ll probably be eating this for lunch for the next 2 days. My dashes equaled about a tablespoon total. But honestly, with soup, you just have to taste as you go.
the flavors sound wonderful. thank you for posting this!
Thanks to you and Kristin for this recipe. Lentils are one of my favorite things to cook and I always want new ideas. This recipe is almost my exact lentil soup version, except with a whole lot of ginger–I never thought of that!
Julie
We love lentil soup! Thanks for sharing and great website!
I made a half batch today. Used chicken broth instead of vegetable. I didn’t have cans or packs of broth, so used Better Than Bouillon. Have you used it? I like it as a quick alternative to homemade broth. Better tasting than the cubes, in my opinion. The soup was really flavorful and good. I put a dash of balsamic vinegar in my soup bowl (1/2 t?). Didn’t need salt either.