How to Make a Tasty Italian Style Soup From Your Left Over Turkey

Image by flatworldsedge via Flickr

The sun has set on another family gathering. The days that follow will be filled with more food than you know what to do with. If you have too much left over turkey after a special holiday feast, it makes sense to use every last morsel. People get tired of sandwiches and cold platters fairly quickly so why not use the carcass and any left over meat, to feed them a tasty soup? Serve with warmed crusty bread and top with slices of fresh Parmigiana cheese and they’ll be coming back for more the next day.

Ingredients

Left over turkey

Chicken stock, equivalent to 4 cups

Water to cover

2 Bay leaves

6 Cloves

1 Onion

1 Carrot

1 Celery stick

6 Bacon rashers

2 Zucchinis

2 Potatoes

1 Good handful Italian flat leaf parsley

Slices Parmigiana cheese

Method

Strip the turkey of any remaining meat, roughly chop and put aside. Remove any stuffing and wipe out the cavity. Bring a large stock pot of water to the boil. If the pot is too small for the carcass you will need to cut the bird into four or more pieces. Add the stock, turkey carcass, onion, carrot and celery. This will bring the heat of the water down. Let the stock come back to a rolling boil then turn down to a simmer. Cook, uncovered for one hour, topping up the level of the water to keep the bird covered.

While the stock is simmering you will need to skim the surface to remove any froth or impurities that rise to the surface. A fine wire sieve is perfect, but you can use the edge of a spoon if you don’t have a sieve. At the end of the hour’s cooking time, strain the stock into another pan and discard the rest.

Finely chop spring onion and bacon. Lightly sauté in olive oil in a small fry pan for a few minutes until the onion starts to soften and the bacon is crispy. Add to the stock with the zucchini and potato and bring the liquid back to a gentle simmer. Cook only until the potato has softened.

Before serving check for seasoning and add ground white pepper and salt to taste. Serve in a bowl topped with slices of parmigiana cheese and parsley, with some crusty warmed bread on the side. Bon appétit!

Variations to the recipe

Substitute the turkey carcass with a chicken or a ham bone. Other vegetables can be added to the final half hour cooking time including, carrots, beans, or mange tout (snow peas). The base of the stock lends itself to many variations depending on the food in the crisper. Experiment, have fun and enjoy.