Guy's Roast Turkey & Vegetable Soup with Wild Rice

One of the best things about serving roast turkey at Christmas or Thanksgiving, is making a warm and comforting Turkey Soup, using the leftover carcass and turkey meat. The key to making any great soup is the flavour of the stock, and leftover roasted turkey carcass makes an extraordinary rich and delicious poultry broth. Turkey stock is easy to make too, since it's as easy as boiling up some water and cutting up a few vegetables such as carrots, celery and onions with a boquet-garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaves. 

Turkey stock made using a whole turkey carcass - bones, 

wings and some meat attached - bay leaves, carrots, celery and onions 

Simply chop up the carcass or pull it apart so it fits in a stock pot, and cover it with water by an inch or two. Add the vegetables and boquet-garni and bring to a simmer, skimming off anything that rises to the top. Leave the stock to bubble away gently for 3 to 4 hours, then strain it though a colander. If you chill it, the fat will congeal on the surface and can then be removed before using it for the Turkey Soup. 

Start making the soup by finely dicing six carrots...

To make the soup, start by chopping up some carrots, Italian parsley, celery and leeks, then sauté the leeks and celery with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet until they become soft, about 6 minutes. Add them to the warm stock, then add the parsley, carrots and wild rice, and simmer about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables and rice are cooked through. Finally, some peas, corn and shredded turkey meat are added. Both the stock and soup freeze beautifully, so you can be enjoying the fruits of your labour for the chilly months to come.

...and a bunch of fresh parsley

Sauté the leeks and celery with some olive oil until soft

Shredded leftovers of the turkey

Guy's Roast Turkey & Vegetable Soup with Wild Rice
Makes about 16 cups

Turkey Stock:
1 Turkey carcass, with any good meat reserved
3-4 quarts of water, or as needed
3 bay leaves
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks with fronds, coarsely chopped
2 yellow onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 parsley sprigs
3 thyme sprigs

Turkey Soup:
3 leeks, diced fine
2 tbsp olive oil
6 carrots, diced fine
4 celery staks, chopped fine
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 cup wild rice, uncooked 
1 pot of homemade Turkey stock, strained

To make the stock, chop up the turkey carcass to fit in a large stock pot with a built in strainer if you have one. Add the bay leaves, carrot, celery with fronds and 2 onions. Add enough water to cover the carcass and vegetables by an inch or two, and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down enough so it maintains a bubbling simmer, partially cover and let it bubble away for 3 to 4 hours, replenishing with additional water if the level gets too low.

Remove the carcass and vegetables from the stock pot using a strainer. Discard the vegetables and carcass, but save any good looking turkey meat. Meanwhile, keep the strained turkey stock at a gentle simmer in the stock pot until needed. 

In a skillet, sauté the leeks and celery with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, about 6 minutes. Add to the warm stock, then add the parsley, carrots and wild rice. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 30 minutes, until the vegetables and rice are cooked through. Finally, add the peas, corn and turkey meat and cook until they're heated through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The soup can be bagged and frozen for future use, or served hot, ladled into warmed bowls with a sprinkle of parsley and some lovely warm bread with a lump of good cheese.