Just in case I have not made this clear, Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. I love all the food, and especially the turkey. My Dad and I could probably eat turkey everyday. My Dad is one of few people who goes to the grocery store the day after Thanksgiving and buys a turkey on sale, goes home, and cooks it. At first my mom thought that was crazy - but there is a very good reason for this. The Thanksgiving turkey becomes Turkey Soup - and we need more turkey to eat with all the Thanksgiving side dishes. So the obvious solution is to cook another smaller turkey the day after Thanksgiving.
I love this soup so much that having it once a year is not enough, so I make it with leftover chicken. This soup freezes very well, I freeze individual servings and take them out as I need them.
My dad taught me that leftover gravy is the secret to a great soup. I strongly believe that it adds a lot of flavor to soup. I like to add gravy to all of my stock based soups. Feel free to add or omit any vegetables to this soup.
You will need:
2 quarts Stock (I posted the recipe last week)
1 cup or as much as you have Gravy (unless you already added it into the stock)
3 cups diced Turkey (or Chicken)
1 cup chopped white onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 package fresh cheese or ravioli or tortillini
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sprinkle of Parmesan
Plus 1 cup of any of the following vegetables:
lightly sauteed mushrooms
frozen spinach (defrosted and water squeezed out)
corn
cannellini (white) beans
broccoli
green beans
peas
Step 1:
In a large soup pot (or if your large pot is already filled with the stock, use a frying pan - and then add the sauteed veggies to the stock) saute the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. After a couple minutes, once the onion is soft add the carrots and celery. Continue sauteing until the onion is slightly browned.
Step 2:
Add the stock to the sauteed veggies. Heat until bubbling. Then add the gravy, diced turkey, and the remaining veggies. I always put spinach, corn, cannellini beans, and green beans in this soup. Let the soup bubble for a least 30 minutes cooking the veggies.
Step 3:
Add the fresh ravioli or tortillini. Cook for another 10 minutes and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
I always freeze half of this soup right away and save it for later. (Later is usually a day when it is -20 in Chicago and there is no way I am leaving my apartment).
