We were lucky enough to be given a few big, delicious Greenberg smoked turkeys sent to us during the holidays. Lean, juicy and intensely smoky, absolutely delicious! Gary carved every bit of meat off the birds to serve for our annual Christmas party, but even after the evening of snaking we had a lot of meat left over. Promptly after Christmas day, as if our systems were sending us a very clear message, Gary and I both came down with a bit of a cold, that required a hearty, brothy soup be created to drive those sickly symptoms away. Adding the whole turkey leg, with the skin removed, created this intensely smoky, utterly delicious flavor in this veggie and pepper filled soup. You can also use a smoked rotisserie chicken if turkey isn’t handy, but keep this recipe in mind next time you get one of those beautiful Greenberg birds.

Recipe:

Smoky, Spicy Turkey Soup
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 smoked turkey leg (or two smoked chicken legs) skin removed
1-2 cups shredded smoked turkey or chicken
1 large jalapeño, stem and seeds removed, minced
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 zucchini squash, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup white wine
2 dried bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 10 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 10 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed well
1 tablespoon each chopped fresh thyme, oregano, cilantro and parsley
Salt and pepper
6 cups chicken stock
Garnish with chopped avocado, shredded parmesan cheese, fresh herbs or add cooked rice or egg noodles and ladle soup over

Preparation:
Add the oil to a large Dutch oven to soup pot with the onion, celery, carrots and jalapeño and place over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes then add the turkey leg to the pot and continue to cook, stirring often for another 5-7 minutes.  Add the squash, garlic, ground spices, bay leaves and season generously with salt and pepper.  Add the vinegar and Worcestershire, stirring to incorporate.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated then add the wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by 1/2. Add the tomatoes, beans, corn, peas, turkey and chicken stock. Bring to a boil then add the fresh herbs and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and turkey leg (most of the meat should have fallen off the bone during cooking, but if any meat remains remove it from the bone with tongs and add to the soup). Serve warm with crusty bread topped with lots of cheese.