The contents of my Leftover Soup pot. Just add water!
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to keep better track of – and do a better job of eating – what’s in my freezer. I have a habit of cooking for an army, squirreling leftovers away in the freezer, and opening the door one day to an avalanche. So last night, I proudly ate the last of the giant pot of chicken soup I’d made ages ago. As a bonus, unearthing it also reminded me that I still had two bags of bones left over from my 26-lb Thanksgiving turkey in there. So this morning, I am making Leftover Turkey Soup.
The beauty of this soup is that you probably have everything you need to make it already on hand: the poultry carcass you’ve been saving, the onions that were starting to sprout bright green shoots in the back of your crisper, the pale-looking carrots that didn’t get served as crudité at your last party, some garlic dug from the bottom of a basket or drawer, and a bay leaf or two from your spice rack.
If you’ve been shopping for sustainable foods all along, voila, your ingredients are already eco-friendly. But even if you bought conventional carrots from the store, leftover soup is earth-friendly food because it reduces waste. Add re-usable containers for storage, and you’ve got a dish you can feel 100% good about.
The other best thing about leftover soup is that it’s dead easy to make. Throw all your ingredients in a big stock pot, cover them with water, put the lid on the pot, and let it simmer until it the broth turns golden and your house is filled with a heavenly smell (anywhere from 3-6 hours or more). Then take out the bones and vegetables, and pour the soup through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer to remove any smaller chunky bits. Season the broth with salt and pepper, and once it’s cool, skim any fat off the top.
You can freeze your broth as-is (be sure to leave some room at the top of your container for expansion), or add back any meat that was left on the bones, fresh carrots, celery, potatoes, rice, noodles, or your other favorite ingredients. Whatever you do with it, though, be sure to label the containers with the date and their contents. That way, when you discover them in the freezer later, you won’t have to guess at how long they've been there or what’s inside.
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Comments
I can so relate to this. Right after Thanskgiving I saw packaged turkey bones for sale at the market. I haven't made turkey soup since I moved to Boston and stopped making Thanksgiving dinner. So I bought a package of bones and went looking for my recipe. The only thing I remember about it was that the broth was clear and I added sage to the soup. I still haven't found the recipe or anything else like it (online) and I'm determined not to make chicken soup using turkey. One dsay this week I'm going to have to buckle down and figure out a recipe of my own and get that turkey out of my freezer.
It's always nice to have some stock on hand in the freezer. A few veggies and some beans and you'll have yourself a nice minestrone at a moment's notice.
If you fill an ice cube tray with your stock, you will have small portions available for use in recipes on an as needed basis.
MJB: I wish you'd been in my kitchen when I was looking for containers to freeze stock in! I always freeze my fresh basil pesto in ice cube trays, but it didn't occur to me with the stock, and now I have 4 quart-sized blocks of it in the freezer instead of cube-sized ones.
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