Phew.  The last guest has pulled out of the driveway and you can finally put your feet up.  Only a food writer would suggest heading back into the kitchen for more cooking…just a little, and it will be so worth it.  Rich aromatic turkey soup is a simply soothing aftertaste to the intense food oriented holiday.  The hours it spends simmering stovetop lend themselves nicely to that quiet time in front of the fire that you so deserve after a hectic week.  The only caveat is that you should make the turkey broth base as soon as possible after the Thanksgiving dinner as the bits of meat still attached to the carcass will spoil in a few days.  Save your leftover bones, skin and gravy to add to the soup base.  Wrap leftover turkey meat (off the bone) tightly and save until ready to add to the soup.

Turkey soup

Makes 6 to 10 servings

Broth

1 turkey carcass, picked over.  Save the bits of meat

1 carrot, cut into 4 pieces

1 onion, cut into 4 pieces

1 stalk of celery, cut into chunks

5 or 6 strands of parsley

6-8 whole peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons of kosher salt

4 quarts of water

Leftover gravy (optional)

Pop the turkey carcass into a tall stockpot, cover with cold water, add all the remaining ingredients, plus any leftover turkey bones, turkey skin and gravy.  Simmer for up to three hours.  To achieve a clear broth, simmer slowly.  Boiling the broth results in the same good taste, but yields a cloudier base.  Using tongs, remove the carcass and vegetables.  Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large container.  Cool and skim off the fat that rises to the top.  You should have about 12 cups of broth.  If you want a more intense flavor, simmer the strained broth and reduce the volume from 12 cups to 8.    Once cooled, the broth can be refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, minced

2 carrots, chopped

6 ounces of egg noodles

1 cup frozen peas

2 to 3 cups turkey meat, cut into spoon size pieces

Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in a pan.  Add the onion and carrots and sauté until fragrant.  Add the onion and carrots into simmering turkey broth and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the egg noodles and cook another 10 minutes.  Once the carrots and noodles are cooked, add the frozen peas, chopped parsley and the turkey meat.  Salt and pepper to taste

Variations:  I find that the egg noodles, while adding noodly-yumminess to the soup, often swell up and become mealy in the leftover soup.  If you plan on eating this soup over a day or two (or freezing it), consider cooking the noodles separately and adding them to the bowls before serving.  I am wild about barley and often substitute cooked barley for the egg noodles.  Cook the barley according to package directions.  Rinse it and add it to the cooked soup when you add the peas, turkey and parsley.  Barley is delicious, nutritious and more cooperative than noodles; barley doesn’t swell in the broth.