This leftover turkey recipe is a tradition unto itself. We always make sure to buy a turkey that’s slightly too large for our family to eat on Thanksgiving, make broth out of the bones, and then make soup! It’s easy to whip together, it feeds a crowd, and fills your kitchen with a delicious aroma. It also soothes the soul after a hard day’s work of preparing a Thanksgiving meal for the family.
If you’re familiar with our recipes, you’ll know they’re more of a guideline than something you need to follow exactly. Feel free to scale the recipe up or down, add different herbs, swap the noodles for cooked wild rice, and otherwise create the leftover turkey soup of your dreams.
This leftover turkey soup recipe takes cues from one of Marco’s favorite chicken soups in NYC – from the original 2nd Ave Deli, one of the city’s most famous Jewish delis. Traditionally, there are “golden coins,” dollops of chicken fat (or in this case turkey fat) that rise to the top of the soup and don’t get skimmed off. Our nod to the fatty goodness of the golden coins is to top each serving with generous dots of extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds leftover turkey meat
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the “golden coins”
- 2 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
- 4 celery stalks, chopped (about 1½ cups)
- 1 large onion, cut into large dice (about 2 cups)
- 5 cups Leftover Turkey Bone Broth (or use Brodo Organic Chicken or Signature Hearth)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley
- 8 ounces egg noodles cooked al dente
Instructions
- Pull the leftover turkey meat apart with your fingers, shred with a fork, or chop it with a knife into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the carrots, celery, onion, and a pinch of salt, and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the bone broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the turkey meat, cooked pasta, and herbs. Simmer for 5 minutes more. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, ladle into bowls and dot the top of each serving with a couple of ½-teaspoon “golden coins” of olive oil.
