December 27, 2019
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday surrounded by those you love! We are in post-holiday relaxation mode where we are finishing leftover Christmas cookies and trying to not think of any January resolutions yet.
This is a favorite recipe to make after the rush of all the cooking and baking. This uses those bits of extra vegetables in your fridge, and after the initial chopping of vegetables most of the recipe is hands-off, allowing the soup to simmer and grow in flavor.
After the turkey has been carved, and passed, and tucked away for leftovers…I always save the remaining bones and bits to make a delicious stock. A day or two after Christmas, I toss those remains in the crockpot with some onion, celery, and carrots. Sometimes I will add herbs if I have them on hand, and I cover everything with water. After a few hours the house smells like comfort. The windows steam and the pores of the house open to bask in its post-holiday facial.
The strained broth goes in the fridge and freezer to be add flavor to a multitude of recipes, but my new favorite is this Holiday Soup (which sounds better than “Leftovers Soup”). I have made a few variations of this and what I love the most is how I feel warm and full, but this is not a heavy soup. Which is certainly welcome after all the holiday indulging.
Holiday Soup
Serves 6
If you are making the turkey stock as I suggest this will take some preplanning to allow the stock to simmer to its full potential.
This soup is very forgiving so here are a couple notes on variations before you get started:
If you don’t have leftover turkey meat, buy 4-6 boneless chicken thighs and brown them on both sides in the oil before sautéing the vegetables. Remove and set aside while sautéing the vegetables, then return the chicken thighs when adding the stock. After the cook time of 30-40 minutes, remove the thighs again and shred the meat before adding back to the soup.
This recipe is centered on using the turkey stock, but when I am craving this soup and don’t have any homemade stock, I will use the method above with chicken thighs and use water instead of stock. The water will take on flavor from the chicken, vegetables, and herbs.
Gnocchi are Italian dumplings made from potatoes, and can be found in the pasta aisle of most grocery stores, or in the frozen food section.
Finally, be sure to cut the vegetables all approximately the same size to cook at approximately the same rate.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped in a small dice
4 carrots, chopped in a small dice
4 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped in a small dice
6-8 small mushrooms of any kind, chopped in a small dice (optional)
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped sage
1 bay leaf
2 quarts turkey stock – see recipe below (already prepared chicken stock will work as well)
A handful of parsley chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 – 2 cups shredded leftover cooked turkey, mixture of white and dark meat is best
1 package of gnocchi
Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
In a large stockpot, heat the oil. Add all the vegetables and herbs. Stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 quarts of stock and let simmer for 30-40 minutes until vegetables soften.
During the last 10 minutes of the cooking time, prepare the gnocchi to package instruction, but subtract 2 minutes from the cooking time. Drain.
Add the cooked, shredded turkey to the soup. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add the gnocchi and let simmer in the broth for a minute or two. Add the chopped parsley if using.
Serve in large bowls with freshly grated parmesan.
Turkey Stock
Add turkey or chicken bones to crockpot. Add 1 quartered onion, 1 carrot cut in thirds, and 1 stalk of celery cut in thirds. Add 4 peppercorns and a bay leaf.
Add water just to the top of the bones. Set crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. When the stock becomes fragrant and the bones have collapsed, strain everything through a fine mesh strainer. Use the stock right away for the above recipe, or let cool before putting in the refrigerator or freezer.
You can also do this same method on the stovetop by using the largest stockpot you own and simmering over low heat for approximately 6 hours.
The resulting amount of stock will depend on the amount of water needed.