Rosemary Ginger Turkey Soup

Serves: 4-6
Time:
Stock: 4-6h
Soup: 30-45 min

It's no secret that Thanksgiving is possibly my very favourite holiday. For me, you can't ask for a better day than one filled with cooking and tasting that culminates in the pure expression of feasting with family and friends. Yes, a turkey dinner with all of the trimmings is where it's at in October.

However, an almost equally good day is the day after the feast: the day full of turkey sandwiches and the promise of leftovers to come. Sprawled out this last Monday with a turkey bun in hand, gravy aplenty, I ruffled my brow and thought "Turkey leftovers recipes....it's gotta be soup this week!" With my turkey bone graveyard sitting idly by, I set out to soup it up.

My biggest challenge with turkey soup is getting a good stock, one that is high on turkey and low on watery. Without over-salting, how can you make a striking turkey stock for soup? I add ginger to give it a boot in the giblets for flavour. The combination of rosemary and ginger make this a beautifully flavoured soup, and I omit starches to maximize the veggies involved . The soup du jour is on, and it's hot hot stuff.

To make a great stock, try the following:

• 1 turkey graveyard (bones and carcass mostly picked clean), skin okay
• 5 sprigs rosemary
• 10 sprigs thyme
• 3 celery stalks, halved
• 1 large shallot or  medium onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 carrots, halved
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 cm of fresh ginger root, unpeeled, halved
• 2 cloves garlic, halved

1) Place all of the above in a large stockpot and fill with water until covered. If you can't stuff it all in to the pot, don't worry, as it cooks you can shove everything down. Otherwise break it apart into large pieces before starting the stock.

2) Cover and put on high heat. When boiling, reduce to low and simmer.

3) Let simmer for 4-6h. Depending on the taste, you may want to remove the lid partway through cooking to allow a reduction and concentrate the flavours if necessary. When it's finished, strain into a large bowl and let sit.

4) When cooled, scoop away the majority of the fat that forms on the surface. Should yield 1-2L of stock depending on the pot. Freeze, refrigerate, or continue on!

Soup Recipe

• 1.5L turkey stock (supplement with chicken stock if needed)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 1 leek, sliced (peel the outer skin away, use the white and light green stalk)
• 1.5 cups diced turkey (hopefully leftover!)
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 5 sprigs rosemary
• 5 sprigs thyme
• splash of white wine
• salt and pepper to taste

1) Make a spice bag using mesh and place the fresh herbs inside. Otherwise be ready to strain them out at the end.

2) Heat the butter in a medium sized pot on medium heat.

3) Add the onion, celery, carrot, leek, garlic and ginger. Stir often until all veggies are soft.  Add chopped turkey and more butter (if needed) before cooking an additional  2 minutes.

4)Add the stock and wine. Stir and increase the heat to high. Toss in the rosemary and thyme bag.

5) When boiling, reduce the heat to  a low simmer. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to suit your palate. Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes. Add the peas and stir for another 5 minutes.

6) Serve steaming hot with a crusty roll or heavy whole wheat toast (with butter of course).

You'll be gobbling this one down until you see the bottom of the bowl!