That nip in the evening air, the scent of rain in the distance, and the sound of falling leaves in the forest behind the house all call to me that it’s soup weather! My favorite part about soup is that you can make pretty much anything into soup if you really want to. My turkey noodle soup is a great example. On Sunday evening, we treated ourselves to a lovely turkey breast for our supper. It was much too large for us to finish, even though it wasn’t a whole turkey, and so I diligently denuded the carcass of meat and put it into the fridge for use later in the week. Then it occurred to me that I ought to make broth!
This is a great recipe to use if you’ve got leftover carcass of any kind. If you like to pick up rotisserie chicken, it’s perfect for making this kind of soup.
Ingredients for the stock/broth:
- 1 stripped carcass (turkey or chicken), with whatever skin and gristle there is
- any drippings from the cooking process
- the skin of 1 or more onion
- several crushed garlic cloves, skin on
- the peelings of 1 or more carrots
- the leafy tops of 1 or more stalks of celery
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh herbs to taste (optional)
Put the carcass, drippings, and veggie peelings into a crock pot or large, heavy stock pot. Add in enough water to cover them completely, and then an inch or so more. Add in a half teaspoon of salt and pepper to start out. Bring to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down to minimum and simmer for several hours. If you’re using a crock pot, put it on high for 4 hours, or low if you’re doing it overnight (which is what I did). If you’re adding fresh herbs, do so after bringing it to a boil, or right before you turn on the crock pot. When I use herbs fresh from the garden, I’ll tie them up into a bouquet garni or toss them into a small muslin bag which is easy to fish out later.
Simmer your stock until it smells and tastes right, usually about 6 to 8 hours in a crock pot, or 3 to 4 hours on a stove top. Allow it to cool for a little bit, so you don’t burn your fingers or anything else, and then pour your stock through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. You want to strain out all the peelings and bones, and also the herbs. When the broth is strained, you can discard the peelings, herbs, and bones, and then add salt and pepper to please your palate.
Allow your stock to cool, and skim off any fat from the top.
Ingredients for the soup:
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, coined
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- other possible vegetables: turnip, parsnip, frozen corn, etc.
- 1 cup diced turkey or chicken meat
To your stock, add all the vegetables and meat, and bring to a very low simmer. If using a crock pot, put it on low heat. Allow to cook on low until the vegetables are cooked through (check the carrots or turnip, as they will be the longest to cook). This can take anywhere from an hour to 8 hours depending on your method of cooking.
When the vegetables are ready, add in the cooked noodles, and serve!
Ingredients for noodles:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
Make a pile of the flour on your counter, and crack the egg into a well made in the center. Whisk the egg and then begin incorporating the flour until you end up with a stiff dough. You may need a bit extra flour if the dough is too wet. If it’s too dry, add in a little water or olive oil, a teaspoon at a time. Set a timer for ten minutes and begin kneading the dough. Continue kneading until your timer goes off. Put the dough into a plastic baggie and set aside for about 30 to 45 minutes.
At the end of the rest time, cut the dough into manageable sized pieces (about fist sized or smaller). Take one piece to work on, leaving the rest in the closed baggie. Working with the one piece, use a flat rolling pin to slowly work the dough into a flat circle. You want the dough to be as thin as you can manage. Experts will tell you that it needs to be thin enough to read through, but you’re not cooking for a Michelin star restaurant. Get it as thin as you can without having it either stick uncontrollably to the counter or rip when you try to move it. Think about 1/8″ or so. You can dust the surface of your circle of dough with a bit of flour now and then, to keep it from sticking.
Cut your dough into whatever shapes you want. For a standard egg noodle (about an inch long, a quarter inch wide, and about 1/8 inch thick), use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or pasta blade to cut out the noodles. Gently dust with flour (semolina works best, but it doesn’t really matter) and allow to dry for at least 30 minutes before using. Alternatively, you can cut your dough into thin strips about two inches long, for a “spaghetini” style noodle (similar to Campbell’s Soup chicken noodle soup).
To cook fresh pasta, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a bit of salt to the water, and then add in the pasta. Bring back to a rolling boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pasta). When the pasta is ready, strain it out, and add it to the soup!
Notes:
I usually add noodles to the bowls, rather than the soup itself. Since we’re not cooking the noodles in the soup (to keep the broth smooth and clear), it’s best to let people add as many or as few noodles as they want to their serving. Extra cooked noodles can be stored in a baggie in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the soup can be frozen or pressure canned so long as it doesn’t have the noodles in it.
Serve up this soup with a hearty bread loaf and lots of butter!