Southwestern Turkey Noodle Soup
Adapted from the Food Network
Serving Size: 6
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 cups leftover cooked turkey, chopped roughly
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly into rounds
2-3 stalks celery, sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8-10 cups turkey stock
12 ounces uncooked wide egg noodles, use half for thinner soup
1 cup frozen peas, (optional)
2 tablespoons parsely, chopped (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, and minced garlic. Sauté 4 minutes, until onions are soft.
NB: you should have roughly the same amount of each vegetable and each piece should be roughly the same size.
2. Add turkey, bay leaves, whole garlic, thyme, spices, salt, and black pepper and stir to mix well.
3. Add 8 cups stock and bring mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Return mixture to a boil and add egg noodles. Cook 10 minutes, until egg noodles are just tender.
6. Add additional stock, if needed. Adjust seasonings. Cook 1 minute to let blend.
7. If using peas, Stir in and cook until peas are just heated through, about 1 minute.
8. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves and garlic cloves.
9. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes:
If you have stock left over from Thanksgiving, use that. If not, use the leftover turkey carcass:
Put half an onion, a few stalks of celery, some carrots, some garlic, a bay leaf, and several peppercorns in a large pot with two tablespoons of oil. Heat on high.
Pull any easily removable meat off the carcass and reserve. Break up the carcass and add to the vegetables.
Cover with 8-10 cups water, bring almost to a boil, skim, then turn down the heat and let it simmer on low for a few hours.
Toss out the bones and vegetables, degrease the stock, reserve any usable turkey, and start your soup.