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WHIMSICAL SUMMER TURKEY-VEGETABLE SOUP
For some reason or another, I found myself in a very whimsical mood for soup today. Yeah, yeah, I know, soup is for winter. But if this was the winter, then it wouldn’t be whimsical would it.
I went to the market and wandered around the produce section picking out things that looked good. Then I went to the Meat Department originally intending to get some stew beef. But when I saw fresh packages of turkey wings and drumsticks I chose them instead.
Here’s what I came up with.
3 Turkey wings, rinsed & divided
2 Turkey drumsticks, rinsed
2 16-oz. cartons organic chicken stock
2-3 cups water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cobs corn, shucked, cleaned, rinsed and chopped into 1” rounds
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large red sweet potato, cut into large chunks
1 large white yam, cut into large chunks
1 large white squash, cut into large chunks
2 sticks celery, chopped into large diagonal slices
1/4 head broccoli, cut into individual florets
1 large white onion, chopped into large chunks
2 Beefsteak tomatoes, diced, saving the juice
A dozen large white mushrooms, halved
1/3 cup soy sauce, or to taste
Juice of two limes
1/4 - 1/3 cup spicy hot vinegar, to taste
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
7 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 whole strands fresh basil
3 whole strands fresh oregano
Salt & fresh-cracked black pepper to taste
Get out your big stock pot and put the turkey into it.
Add the two cartons of chicken stock and then enough water to just submerge the turkey.
Cover. Put on high heat. Let it come to a vigorous boil. Remove cover and let boil for a couple of minutes.
Taking your time, add the vegetables in this order:
Corn
Carrots
Sweet potato
Yam
Squash
Celery
Broccoli
Onion
Tomatoes & juice
Mushrooms
Bring to a second boil and let chug along for 4-5 minutes or until the turkey is tender.
Using a long pair of tongs, fetch the turkey out and put it onto a large plate. Let it rest for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.
Add to the soup:
Soy sauce
Lime juice
Spicy vinegar
Coconut palm sugar
Mix, reduce heat to simmer, let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
When the turkey is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and de-bone the meat. To quickly remove the ligaments from the drumsticks: Look at the short (inner) side of the drumstick. You’ll see a bump on the joint. Cut that joint and you can pull out most of the ligaments at once. You may have to grip it and then twist it with some needle-nose pliers, but this is where all the ligaments are connected. They are not attached to the bone individually; they are attached at that point as a group.
Discard the bones and ligaments, or save to make turkey stock for the freezer. If you want to do this, leave some bits and pieces of turkey and skin on the bones.
Chop the meat up into hearty chunks and return to the soup.
Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Stir. Chop up and add the oregano and basil, stirring just a bit.
Let simmer 5 minutes or so and serve. You really don’t need to serve this with anything else, but if your guests are screaming for bread or crackers, begrudgingly give them whatever you have on hand.
I have to say, I was already very hungry when I started making my pot of soup. As I prepared the ingredients and then especially when it started cooking and those glorious scents filled the air, I was just about to die of starvation.
When I finally sat down at the dinner table with a bowl of soup, it was SO GOOD that I couldn’t shovel it down fast enough. When it occurred to me that I was eating it so fast I couldn’t even taste it going down, I paused and rested for a moment, feeling a bit ashamed that I was being such a pig.
I resumed eating at a much more gentlemanly and leisurely pace. I was literally moaning and groaning and shouting out – that’s how good it was. (Lord only knows what the neighbors thought was going on up here.)
I have a recipe somewhere that I found for something; I don’t recall offhand what it is, but I do remember that the name of the recipe is “Better Than Sex – [whatever the dish is].” I could almost say that this soup could fall into that same category – especially if you love soup as much as I love it, my being a country boy (at heart, still), and having eaten many a bowl of homemade soup growing up.
Make a pot, and see for yourself.[this post was last edited: 8/3/2014-00:55]
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WHIMSICAL SUMMER TURKEY-VEGETABLE SOUP
For some reason or another, I found myself in a very whimsical mood for soup today. Yeah, yeah, I know, soup is for winter. But if this was the winter, then it wouldn’t be whimsical would it.
I went to the market and wandered around the produce section picking out things that looked good. Then I went to the Meat Department originally intending to get some stew beef. But when I saw fresh packages of turkey wings and drumsticks I chose them instead.
Here’s what I came up with.
3 Turkey wings, rinsed & divided
2 Turkey drumsticks, rinsed
2 16-oz. cartons organic chicken stock
2-3 cups water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cobs corn, shucked, cleaned, rinsed and chopped into 1” rounds
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large red sweet potato, cut into large chunks
1 large white yam, cut into large chunks
1 large white squash, cut into large chunks
2 sticks celery, chopped into large diagonal slices
1/4 head broccoli, cut into individual florets
1 large white onion, chopped into large chunks
2 Beefsteak tomatoes, diced, saving the juice
A dozen large white mushrooms, halved
1/3 cup soy sauce, or to taste
Juice of two limes
1/4 - 1/3 cup spicy hot vinegar, to taste
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
7 large cloves garlic, crushed
3 whole strands fresh basil
3 whole strands fresh oregano
Salt & fresh-cracked black pepper to taste
Get out your big stock pot and put the turkey into it.
Add the two cartons of chicken stock and then enough water to just submerge the turkey.
Cover. Put on high heat. Let it come to a vigorous boil. Remove cover and let boil for a couple of minutes.
Taking your time, add the vegetables in this order:
Corn
Carrots
Sweet potato
Yam
Squash
Celery
Broccoli
Onion
Tomatoes & juice
Mushrooms
Bring to a second boil and let chug along for 4-5 minutes or until the turkey is tender.
Using a long pair of tongs, fetch the turkey out and put it onto a large plate. Let it rest for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.
Add to the soup:
Soy sauce
Lime juice
Spicy vinegar
Coconut palm sugar
Mix, reduce heat to simmer, let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
When the turkey is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and de-bone the meat. To quickly remove the ligaments from the drumsticks: Look at the short (inner) side of the drumstick. You’ll see a bump on the joint. Cut that joint and you can pull out most of the ligaments at once. You may have to grip it and then twist it with some needle-nose pliers, but this is where all the ligaments are connected. They are not attached to the bone individually; they are attached at that point as a group.
Discard the bones and ligaments, or save to make turkey stock for the freezer. If you want to do this, leave some bits and pieces of turkey and skin on the bones.
Chop the meat up into hearty chunks and return to the soup.
Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Stir. Chop up and add the oregano and basil, stirring just a bit.
Let simmer 5 minutes or so and serve. You really don’t need to serve this with anything else, but if your guests are screaming for bread or crackers, begrudgingly give them whatever you have on hand.
I have to say, I was already very hungry when I started making my pot of soup. As I prepared the ingredients and then especially when it started cooking and those glorious scents filled the air, I was just about to die of starvation.
When I finally sat down at the dinner table with a bowl of soup, it was SO GOOD that I couldn’t shovel it down fast enough. When it occurred to me that I was eating it so fast I couldn’t even taste it going down, I paused and rested for a moment, feeling a bit ashamed that I was being such a pig.
I resumed eating at a much more gentlemanly and leisurely pace. I was literally moaning and groaning and shouting out – that’s how good it was. (Lord only knows what the neighbors thought was going on up here.)
I have a recipe somewhere that I found for something; I don’t recall offhand what it is, but I do remember that the name of the recipe is “Better Than Sex – [whatever the dish is].” I could almost say that this soup could fall into that same category – especially if you love soup as much as I love it, my being a country boy (at heart, still), and having eaten many a bowl of homemade soup growing up.
Make a pot, and see for yourself.[this post was last edited: 8/3/2014-00:55]
