The last three years, the day after Thanksgiving has been Turkey Soup Day. I didn’t know I could make soup from bones and leftover turkey bits until I tried it – and the first time I tried it, I was skeptical all the way through. But dude – how exciting to have it come together!

I saw the stock instructions alongside an intriguing recipe for turkey and rice soup in a copy of Living Magazine, and got ambitious, I guess. Or hungry – the pictures looked really yummy.

For the stock, I pretty much follow Martha’s recipe to the letter. I might add a few more peppercorns, but that’s about it. The soup I messed with a bit, due to unavailability of celery root in these parts, and to suit our palates as well (we like more veggies in our soup, for one thing). Also, I tend to get at least 13c of stock every year, because we make a very big bird to serve a lot of people. So here’s how I make it.

Day After Turkey Day Soup – feeds 6-8

~13c turkey stock*
~4c shredded leftover turkey
6Tbs unsalted butter
4 carrots, cut in 1/4″ rounds
4 parsnips, cut in 1/4″ rounds
1 whole fennel bulb, halved and cut in 1/4″ slices
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts sliced thinly
2/3c parboiled rice**
1c cooked wild rice
salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in the bottom of your cooking pot over medium heat. Add veggies, a fat dash of salt, and pepper to taste. Saute until the leeks are translucent.

2. Add stock and parboiled rice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmering, and cook until the parsnips are tender and the rice is cooked through. Stir in shredded turkey and wild rice, and simmer until turkey is same temperature as the soup. Add more salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

***

*Pro tip: If you let it sit for about an hour before turning it into soup, you can get most of the fat off the top with a wide spoon.
**While wild rice is hardy and can put up with a lot, white rice isn’t so much. Parboiled rice is best for soups because it doesn’t lose integrity in the liquid as it cooks, or if it sits in the fridge as leftovers for a few days. I like Uncle Ben’s, but Carolina is pretty good too.