Chinese Fruit Soup

I've read a few places that Chinese fruit soup is believed to prevent flu and relieve sore throats. I've had it a few times now, in a restaurant in NYC and at a Chinese church I went to with my friend who is from China. It is delicious, and after having some you crave it.

It's hard to find recipes online that agree, I think fruit soup is rather ubiquitous in China and asking for a recipe is like asking how to make chicken soup in America - there are as many versions as there are cooks, and people change it depending on their mood or what is available at the time. I took elements from several recipes, left out things that aren't SCD (like yams and barley), and came up with this recipe, which I hope folks will like.

1/2 cup dry wine (optional)
3 cups water
4 cloves
1-1" stick of cinnamon
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 1/2" piece of ginger, thinly sliced
2 cups chicken or pork stock with meat
1/2 cup lentils
1/8 tsp salt
1 pound (2 1/2 cups) assorted fruits - raisins, dried dates, figs, fresh mango, chopped

Combine wine, water, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, and ginger in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then strain and keep the liquid.

Add the stock, lentils, and salt and simmer, covered for 25 min.

Add the fruit and simmer, covered, until the dried fruits and lentils are tender, about 20 min. more.

Can be served warm or cold.

If you aren't familiar with buying Mangoes, they are ripe when they yield to gentle pressure, kind of like a ripe pear. I used to pick out the yellow/red ones but it turns out they can be sweet and ripe but fully green, so I guess you just have to go by feel.

If you want to make the soup more authentic or get more vegetables into your kids, you can use some chopped winter squash in place of some of the fruit (to replace the yam that the recipes usually have) - hubbard, butternut, acorn, or similar kinds should work well. Unless you double or tripe the recipe, tho, you won't be able to use much of a large squash, so adding in carrots cut into sticks then chunks (so it matches the fruit) might work better.