Easy and Healthy Leftover Turkey Soup

I promised.

I'm delivering.

You're welcome.

Yesterday we talked about the joys of making one's own stock at home.

We also talked about what folks might do with leftover turkey.

One of the ideas was soup. DUH. So obvious. So delicious. So easy.

My version has very few ingredients and is super light and healthy. You could of course leave out the meat for a vegetarian version, or use poached chicken or rotisserie chicken or canned chicken or shredded pork or WHATEVER YOU LIKE any other time of the year - don't keep this one just for these days of leftovers!

Here's what you need:

1 tablespoon olive oil or reserved bacon fat (you don't keep a jar of fat in your fridge? you should.)
1 small or ½ large onion
2 small or 1 medium carrot
2 stalks celery
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup dry white wine (optional)
2 cups shredded leftover turkey
4 - 6 cups turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock (from a box or homemade. don't freak out)
2 cups cooked rice, for serving (optional)
fresh herbs and lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

This is seriously easy stuff, folks. It's all so warm and comforting...and if you are using stock that's already made or bought and meat that's already cooked, it takes just a little while to prep. You can simmer it, OR you can just it it right this very second. Seriously. It's the greatest.

First, heat a large soup pot to medium heat while you gather your ingredients. Peel and scrub the veggies, if needed, then chop them finely in like sizes - I don't peel carrots, I just scrub them because I don't like to throw away half the food I buy. Sorry. Whatever works for you, though, just get those veggies chopped.

Toss them in the pan with the olive oil, or bacon fat if you're me. Seriously. Not a terrible idea. Add lots of pepper and a sprinkle of salt, and stir the veggies to let them soften. If the pan sizzles a lot, turn the heat down. We don't want them to brown very much, if at all.

Note: Don't add a ton of salt, or any at all if you're using store-bought, full-salt stock. You can always add more at the end, but if you think your stock might be salty, just add pepper right now.

While the veggies are browning, shred the turkey, if it isn't already. Use your hands or two forks.

Then, peel and mince the garlic.

After the veggies have softened for 7 minutes or so, add the garlic and stir it around for 1 or 2 minutes more until you can smell it.

Then, add the wine!

Let the wine bubble and reduce nearly all the way - you might need to turn the heat up at this point. Then, add the stock! Look how jiggly mine was. That's not from fat - the fat is the opaque layer on top of the stock. You can skim that off! The rest of the fat is jiggly because of the .... something.... in the bones. Calcium. Marrow. Something. It just means that you made your own stock and it's cloudy and flavorful and delicious and not full of chemicals. It's a good thing, and jiggly stock smooths out in c. 5 seconds, so don't freak out.

Stir the stock into the veggie/wine mixture, and add the shredded turkey.

Let the soup heat up, and turn the heat down to a simmer when the soup bubbles. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper to your preference. At this point, you can eat! Or, you can let the soup simmer on the lowest heat for 30 minutes or so to REALLY combine the flavors. Up to you!

When you're ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Yum, huh? This is nice and light and healthy and wonderful.

But....we could also top it with a spoonful of rice....

...and some fresh herbs....

....and an extra sprinkle of pepper and a lemon wedge. Yes. Let's do that. The lemon adds a really nice brightness to the comforting turkey stock flavor, and you'll REALLY love it.

Trust me on this one, kids. It's a beaut. Enjoy!

This is so perfect that I included it in this week’s Weekend Potluck. It’s this cute thing where blogs from EVERYWHERE can submit recipes to share with others – it’s so fun to check out new things!