Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Total time: 3 hours
The key to a rich stock is to let it simmer over very low heat for a very long time to let all of the goodness eke out of the bones. It's what gives a good stock a luscious 'mouth-feel'. Use a turkey carcass from a roasted bird or buy wings, necks, and/or legs for the stock. I used a leg and a thigh - and had more meat than I wanted for the soup - turkey salad sandwiches.
Stock
Ingredients:
- The stock:
- turkey carcass and some leftover turkey meat or 2 - 3 turkey wings or 1 turkey leg and thigh
- the tops from a bunch of celery or
2 ribs celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- bouquet garni
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 - 10 cups water
- salt or 1 chicken base/stock cubes
Instructions:
- Cut the vegetables into large chunks. If you are using celery tops, use them all, including the leaves.
- Put turkey, vegetables, herbs and water in soup pot or Dutch oven. If you are using a turkey carcass you may need to break it up to get it in and covered with water - and you may need more water than 8 cups. You can reduce it later.
- Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer over very low heat for several hours, the longer the better. There should be bubbles breaking the surface occasionally, not steadily.
- When done, strain stock into another pot or large bowl, discarding vegetables, bones and skin. Pick the turkey meat off the bones and reserve for soup.
- If time allows, chill stock and remove fat.
Refrigerate turkey if not making soup immediately.
Soup:
Ingredients:
- 8 cups turkey stock
- 2 - 3 cups turkey, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cups wild rice
- 4 carrots
- 3 ribs celery
- 1 large onion
- 2 tbs cornstarch (maizena, corn flour)
- 2 tbs dry sherry
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions:
- Bring stock to a boil over medium heat.
- Lightly rinse the wild rice and add to stock.
- Cut carrots in half, the long way then thinly slice. 1/8" (3 cm). Add to stock.
- Thinly slice celery, add to stock.
- Chop onion, add to stock.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Taste the soup, add salt, pepper, or a chicken stock cube/paste if needed.
- Cut the turkey into small pieces and add to soup.
- Dissolve cornstarch in sherry and a bit of milk.
- Increase heat under soup to a hard simmer. Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring until it clears and thickens the soup slightly.
- Stir in the milk, heat through and serve.
Note: The cornstarch is meant to thicken it very slightly, you may not really notice it when it's hot, but it makes it more unctuous.