Turkey and Squash Soup
by Chef Gavan Murphy
So we all know what time of year it is — turkey time! Being from Ireland we never celebrated Thanksgiving but in terms of the food and especially the turkey, it’s very similar to our Christmas.
Winter in Ireland is a far cry from here in California but I always remember my mother making soup with the leftovers from our turkey dinner and boy did it hit the spot. It’s definitely a great way to use up leftovers and it’ll feed any stragglers who might just pop by.
For this soup, we first roast a butternut squash. Then we'll add it to our vegetables, herbs, broth, and turkey strips. Not only is this a hearty nutritious autumn soup, it’s low in calories and low in cholesterol.
Turkey and Squash Soup
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks - whites only, halved lengthwise, rinsed and chopped in ¼” slices (2 ½ cups)
1 red bell pepper - cored, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
6 cups (1 ½ quarts/60fl oz) chicken broth
1 ½ pounds butternut squash
2 tbsp. fresh thyme – chopped
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
2 cups (20fl oz) frozen corn
¼ tsp. chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 lb. (450g) turkey cutlets cut into ½” strips
½ lime – zested (green only)
Salt & pepper to taste
ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH
1 ½ lbs. (680g) butternut squash - peeled, seeded and diced into 1” cubes
¼ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil<
1. Begin by pre-heating oven to 375 F (190 C) degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl add all butternut squash ingredients and toss together to coat evenly.
3. On a foiled baking or roasting oven tray, lay out butternut squash evenly and roast for approx. 1 hour or until tender. Set aside to cool on a plate.
SOUP
1. Pre-heat a large soup pot on medium heat for 2-3 minutes
2. Drizzle 1 tbsp. olive oil and saute chopped leeks for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. Do not brown.
3. Add garlic, red pepper, corn, cumin and chili flakes to leeks and sauté for additional 3 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
4. Add broth along with chopped thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 mins. or until vegetables are tender.
6. Add turkey strips to soup and simmer for 25 minutes on medium low-heat. Once turkey is tender add in cooked butternut squash.
7. To finish add zest of ½ a lime and taste for desired S&P seasoning.
TIP You can make the soup ahead of time even a couple of days in advance of serving. All you need do to finish is re-heat and add turkey strips.
Not only is this a hearty nutritious autumn soup, it’s low in calories and low in cholesterol. This is brilliant for after our Thanksgiving gorge!
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I love curry with squash, and adding turkey will only make this even better! Now we just need to find a way to get some bacon into the recipe ;)
Posted by: Erik | Nov 26, 2008 at 10:27 AM