Turkey and Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Dumplings
You’ve probably heard my mantra on food waste. If you haven’t, it goes something like this: don’t waste food. No, but really, I hate wasting food. So much so that when we had to get on the road first thing in the morning the day after Thanksgiving, I put the turkey carcass in a covered pot with a sticky note that said “don’t discard,” so that my Mom, who was coming over for leftovers and to care for our pups, wouldn’t think I’d just stuck it in there after too much sangria the night before and chuck it. Which would have been a total travesty, because then how would I have made the rich, flavorful broth for this soup!?
This soup is fabulous comfort food, which was nice since it was cold and rainy all last week. I especially loved it drizzled with sriracha!
Turkey Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Dumplings
Adapted from The Food Network
- Turkey carcass
- 2 large onions, one quartered and one chopped
- 4 peeled carrots, 2 coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
- 4 stalks celery, 2 coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, 4 smashed and 2 chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups leftover stuffing (I used sausage and sage)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups shredded leftover turkey meat
- 1 cup leftover corn kernels
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Put the turkey carcass, quartered onions, coarsely chopped carrots and celery, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to just cover, about 2 quarts. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain the solids from the broth. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and reserve; you should have about 10-12 cups broth.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined; cover and reserve.
- Wipe the stockpot clean with a paper towel. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the sliced carrots and celery, thyme sprigs, and reserved broth and bring to a simmer; cook vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes.
- Roll level tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into balls with wet hands and drop into the simmering soup; cook for 3-4, turning once. Gently stir in the turkey meat, corn, and peas and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Serve immediately.
Turkey and Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Dumplings
