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This delicious soup is called “Fran Berman’s Ginger and Lentil Soup”, but alas I do not know who Fran Berman is. A friend gave me the recipe, and the friend wasn’t sure about Fran Berman either. Maybe the real Fran Berman will come take credit for this great soup recipe? I hope so.
Since posting it I’ve made it dozens of times, though I usually halve the recipe and I use slightly less water. It’s a fairly simple soup with spiciness from the garlic and ginger and sweetness from the carrots. For the vegetable broth, I usually use Swanson brand.
Ginger and Lentil Soup
Fran Berman's Ginger and Lentil Soup is a flavorful soup perfect for all year round.
Servings: 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 I only use about 2 cups
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock vegetable
- Fine sea salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Dashes of balsamic vinegar to taste about 2 teaspoons
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 for minute.
- Stir in the lentils, then add the stock and remaining 3 cups of water.
- Partially cover. Simmer over a low flame, stirring often, 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
- Remove from heat and cool briefly. Stir in salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to taste.
Notes
Over the years I've reduced the water somewhat.
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.
We love lentil soup! Thanks for sharing and great website!
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
the flavors sound wonderful. thank you for posting this!
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.
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.
This sounds really good. Any idea how much balsamic vinegar you used??