Got some leftover turkey? Wondering what to do with it? We made a soup with ours, and believe me, it’s the best! Give it a try and join your holiday turkey in HEAVEN!
It’s fairly simple, really, and even though it’s the time of year when farmer’s markets are only memories, typical supermarket ‘stuff” works just fine. It’ll take a large pot; I prefer to use my old giant pressure cooker that is a remnant from the days when we ran the restaurant at an AZ mountain lodge, but any large pot will work; it just takes a little longer.
The following makes a lot of soup, but it refrigerates perfectly well and keeps very nicely, even gains a little flavor complexity in the process. It’s good for at least a week (which is about how long it takes two people to eat it all)!
Part A
1/2 cup pearled barley
1/2 cup wild rice
5 cups water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
Part B
3-4 cups leftover turkey (no skin or bone), cut up into bite-sized pieces
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped sweet onion
16 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (baby bella, white, shiitake, whatever’s available)
1 Tbsp dried/crushed oregano leaves
1 Tbsp dried/crushed marjoram leaves
1 Tbsp dried/crushed thyme leaves
1Tbsp ground Herbs de Provence
1Tbsp ground summer savory
1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned corn, drained and rinsed
6 cups water
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon powder
1 cup plain (no fat) yogurt
3/4 cup salsa verde (Hatch, La Costena, homemade, whatever)
Part C
4 Tbsp melted butter
4 Tbsp white flour
1 cup reserve broth from Part A, above
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1-2 Tbsp chopped fresh baby dill (or 1 Tbsp dried chopped dill weed)
NOTE: In part B, feel free to substitute de-fatted turkey dripping “broth” or stock (if you didn’t use it for gravy) for water and bouillon powder — 1 cup water plus 1 tsp bouillon powder equals 1 cup turkey stock.
Preparation:
Simplest way is to use a pressure cooker. A large and deep saucepan will work well, but cooking times will be substantially longer.
Combine Part A ingredients in cooker or pot, cook till barley and wild rice are soft and starting to fluff (about 30 mins in pressure cooker). Carefully reserve about one cup of the broth and set it aside. Then add all of Part B ingredients, return to heat, cook (under pressure) for about 15 minutes, or in regular pot until carrots have softened nicely (sample a spoonful of the broth and add a little kosher or sea salt if necessary, to taste).
Meanwhile, make the roux:
Part C ingredients: Melt the butter in a small skillet or saucepan, whisk in the flour till smooth, cook over med heat, stirring, for a minute or two, until the mixture bubbles. It should be creamy smooth, add a little butter or flour to adjust if necessary. Remove from heat and stir in the reserved broth, then the yogurt and the dill. Whisk till smooth.
Finally, add the Part C blend to the pot, stir till smoothly incorporated and blended, return to heat and bring to a soft boil. Stir until the soup starts to thicken, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest for five minutes or so, then serve with favorite croutons.
Enjoy!
TheZoo 