One thing that mom always mad after the holidays was soup. If there was a leftover bone or carcass or meat from anything, one thing we could count on was a big pot of soup.
We loved mom's soups. They were hearty and delicious. I used to make soup a lot when my children were growing up as well. My ex husband called it Stewp because he felt they were like a cross between a soup and a stew.
We have never gone in for really thin soups. Broth with just a few bits in it. We like soup with substance. It doesn't have to be thick and creamy. It just has to be hearty. I had one child who hated soups of any kind. Amanda. She used to moan and groan everytime. I guess you can't please them all.
We used to be so happy when my mother made a nice pot of homemade soup. It was something we really looked forward to, even after we grew up. We could rely on mom having a pot of her homemade soup in the freezer ready to drag out and warm up for us.
One of my favorite memories was when I was first living out on my own after my second marriage fell apart. I came down with pneumonia and she brought me some of her nice homemade soup. It made me feel better even if I wasn't better. Mom's and soup. Two good things.
A good soup always begins with a good stock. I always take my carcasses and put them into a pot to make into stock as soon as possible after cleaning of the carcass. Roasted bones make the best stock, so if you have time try to roast them in a stove top to oven casserole if you can first.
Once you have done that, you can add a quantity of cold water and some aromatics such as celery (include some of the leaves), onions, carrots, garlic, and parsley, along with some salt, a broken bay leaf and a small handful of peppercorns. You can add some other herbs as well if you like. Summer savoury is awfully good in poultry stock.
Just bring it to the boil, then reduce, cover and simmer for a couple of hours. At the end of that time it should be well flavoured, having leached plenty of flavor from the bones and any meat that might have still been clinging to them. (I always like to leave a little bit.)
I usually place a colander over a clean saucepan and strain all the bones and aromatics out at that point. You can just discard all of that. If you refrigerate it any fat in the stock will harden and it will be easier for you to skim it off and discard.
Mom never bothered. She left all fat in the soup. I can remember asking her what those glossy beads on top were and her telling me they were vitamins, lol. God bless her. We never minded.
Nowadays we are a bit more health conscious however, so do skim it off and discard. You can then pack it into individual containers ready to freeze so that you have a container of fresh stock ready to use whenever you want to make a pot of soup.
Mom never made fancy soups. After Thanksgiving and Christmas you would get turkey soup. After a roast chicken, chicken soup. After New Years and Easter, Pea soup, and if she had beef bones you got beef/vegetable soup.
There was no variance. It didn't matter we loved them all. You can't beat old fashioned simplicity for comfort.
One soup I like to make wih some of th stock is this delicious Turkey Mulligatawny Soup. It is rich and delicious with an abundance of East Indian/Asian flavours and filled with meaty chunks of turkey, plenty of vegetables and rice.
There is a gentle hit of heat and spice from the use of curry powder and a touch of sweetness (which goes well with curry) by using a fresh apple, chopped. Altogether, its a very hearty, delicious and satisfying soup.
More heartiness is added by ladling the hot soup over cooked rice in the soup bowls. You could of course cook the rice right in the soup, but I prefer the texture of it done this way. As well, if you have someone who doesn't like rice, they don't have to have rice!
This is delicious served with warm mini naan breads. I love the fruity Peshwari naan, myself, but regular crackers, poppadoms or dinner rolls also go very well. Enjoy!
Turkey Mulligatawny Soup
Yield: 4Author: Marie Raynerprep time: 10 Mincook time: 30 Mintotal time: 40 MinA quick and delicious soup with an asian flair created to make the most of your leftover cooked poultry. You use either cooked turkey in this, which makes it perfect for this time of year. You can also use cooked chicken.Ingredients
- 1 TBS vegetable oil
- 1 eating apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped coarsely
- 1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, trimmed, deseeded and chopped
- 1 TBS wholemeal or plain flour
- 1 tsp curry powder (I use medium)
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
- 5 1/2 cups (1 1/4 litre) of well flavoured chicken or turkey stock
- 3 cups (400g) of boneless, skinless cooked turkey, cut into bite sized pieces
- fine sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste
- Cooked rice to serve (I like brown basamati)
- Chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add the apple, carots, celery, onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the vegetables have begun to soften.
- Mix together the flour, curry powder, and mustard powder. Sprinkle this over the vegetables. Cook and stir for several minutes.
- Add the stock slowly so as to prevent any lumps. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, uncoverd for 20 to 25 minutes, until the vegetables are completely softened and the apple has begun to break down.
- Stir in the turkey and heat through. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Place a portion of hot cooked rice into each of 4 heated bowls. Ladle the hot soup over and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately. Delicious!!
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