This was so good. I love turkey noodle or chicken noodle soup and this one hit the spot. We bought a few smoked turkey legs at our butcher shop with the idea of cooking them with greens. The legs were big enough to feed 6 people, so I used a couple of them to make this simple, southwestern inspired soup. So delicious. Total comfort food.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SMOKED TURKEY BROTH
- 2 smoked turkey legs (you can usually find smoked turkey legs, wings and necks at your local butcher shop)
- 1-2 smoked turkey wings (optional – they do add more flavor!)
- 2 large onions, peeled and rough chopped
- 6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
- 2 celery stalks, cut into thirds
- 2 orange carrots, cut into thirds
- 1 C fresh organic cilantro leave and stems
- 4-5 tomatillos, husks removed and cut in half
- 1 guajillo dried pepper
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 Qrts of water
- 2 T Kosher salt
FOR THE SMOKED TURKEY SOUP
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 C diced celery
- 1 C diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 C diced poblano, seeds removed
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced (optional)
- 1 C frozen or fresh organic corn
- 1 tsp toasted cumin
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp fresh lime zest
- 1/2 C fresh organic cilantro
- 3 C smoked turkey meat (pulled from the legs)
- 3-4 quarts smoked turkey broth
- 3-4 C egg noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE CILANTRO PISTOU
- 2 C fresh organic cilantro, stems and leaves
- 2 T fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp fresh lime zest
- 1 T fresh minced garlic
- 2 T minced shallot or onion
- 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil (or more if needed)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
In an 8 quart stock pot, place all ingredients for the smoked turkey broth and add in the water, making sure to completely cover the legs and vegetables with the water. On high heat, bring the broth up to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 3 hours. After 3 hours, carefully remove the turkey legs and set aside until cool enough to pull meat from bones. Once smoked turkey legs are cooled, pull all the meat and chop into bite size pieces. You should get approximately 3 cups. Using a strainer, strain broth into another stock pot and discard all the vegetables. In the empty 8 quart stock pot, add olive oil, celery, onion, red bell pepper, poblano and jalapeno (if using). Put on medium heat and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly so not to burn. Add corn, cumin, lime juice and zest. Saute’ one more minute. Add in broth, smoked turkey and egg noodles. Bring heat up to medium high and cook for 5 minutes, until noodles are al dente. toss in cilantro and season with salt and pepper. While the soup is finishing, you can make your cilantro pistou. Simply put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you need to add additional oil or a bit of water to smooth out consistency, add teaspoons at a time until you’ve reached desired consistency. You may need to adjust seasoning.
TO SERVE: ladle soup into big bowls and top with dollops of cilantro pesto. So good.
COOK’s NOTES:
- To make this gluten free you can opt to not use noodles or use a gluten free noodle.