the day after soup

prep time:: 15 min
total time:: 45 min

Makes 12 servings

I do not let a good fowl carcass go to waste. Instead, I simmer it till the bones hold no longer, giving way to a flavorful stock and bits of meat enough to fill a deep pot of soup. After spending two Thanksgiving celebrations yielding to gluttony at its best, I’ve been taking it easy.
Sure, I pick at the leftovers. Make a sandwich or two. Nibble at forkfuls of three different pies during late night noshing.
But, today…today I could only fathom the flavor of the thanks without the weight of givings. Therefore, I crafted a quick and light soup filled with veggies and good intentions. This soup I would have made the day after Thanksgiving—when fullness was at its peak—but didn’t have a chance to since I was dancing through a kitchen’s worth of sullied culinary remains.

ingredients

12 cups homemade turkey stock
5 cups shredded turkey meat leftovers
6 carrots, chopped into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium potato, peeled & chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled & chopped
1 15 ounce can kidney beans (no salt added, ready to serve)
1 15 ounce can sweet peas
6 green onions, sliced into dainty rounds
1 bunch red kale, leaves plucked from stems into bite-sized pieces
2 pinches coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup white wine

directions

1
Pour stock into deep stock pot. Set burner to a low heat. Add the turkey, carrots, potato, sweet potato, beans and peas (with “can juice”), and onions. Stir for a few minutes to mingle the goods. Next, pile in the kale, stirring every couple of minutes, until it’s self-absorbed and mingling with the rest of the veggies that rest easy in the broth’s bath. Sprinkle in salt. Perk up flavors by rolling Italian herbs and tarragon through your palms over the pot. Season further with the celery salt and garlic powder. Toast the soup one last turkeylicious hurrah with a pour of wine. Rev up the heat to a medium setting until a fast simmer brews, then return to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender to a fork piercing—paying mind to a good stir a few times throughout.
2
This soup is lightweight, veggie-packed and flavorful. It’ll ease you into your yearlong turkey hiatus.

Source: Jennifer