Leftover Turkey Rice Soup (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Main Ingredients
01 -
1 cup wild rice blend, uncooked
02 -
1 tablespoon olive oil
03 -
1 small yellow onion, chopped
04 -
2 celery stalks, chopped
05 -
1 medium carrot, chopped
06 -
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
07 -
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
08 -
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
09 -
¼ cup dry white wine (can skip if preferred)
10 -
2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
11 -
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
12 -
1 bay leaf
13 -
4 cups leftover turkey, torn into pieces or chopped
14 -
⅓ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
15 -
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
16 -
Salt and black pepper, to taste
# Instructions:
01 -
Get your wild rice going first since it takes the longest. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot and cook the rice following what the package says—usually about 40 to 50 minutes until tender.
02 -
While the rice cooks, chop up your veggies. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Toss in the onions, celery, and carrots, cooking them until they're nice and soft, roughly 8 minutes.
03 -
Push the veggies to one side of the pot. Drop the garlic and dried herbs into the empty spot and stir them around for about 30 seconds until you can really smell them. Then mix everything together.
04 -
If you're using wine, splash it in now and stir it through the vegetables. Let it bubble away for a couple minutes to cook off the alcohol.
05 -
Dust the flour over everything and stir it in. It'll get thick and pasty—that's normal. Keep stirring for about 2 minutes to cook out that raw flour taste.
06 -
Pour in the chicken stock one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. The flour will help thicken the broth as you go.
07 -
Toss in the bay leaf and turn the heat up to medium-high until the soup starts bubbling. Then lower it back to medium and let it simmer actively for 10 minutes.
08 -
Fish out and toss the bay leaf. Stir in your leftover turkey. In a small bowl, mix the cream with a ladle of the hot soup to warm it up, then pour it into the pot.
09 -
Once your rice is done cooking, spoon it right into the soup and stir it through.
10 -
Give it a taste—it probably needs some brightness now. Squeeze in a tablespoon of lemon juice, add a pinch of salt and pepper, then taste again. Keep adjusting with more lemon, salt, or pepper until it tastes just right to you.
# Notes:
01 -
This soup is perfect for using up holiday turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving or Christmas.
02 -
You can substitute chicken for turkey if you don't have leftovers on hand.
03 -
The wild rice takes the longest to cook, so start it first and prepare everything else while it's going.