Turkey Orzo Soup

This recipe is made up of ingredients leftover from Thanksgiving.  I used the carcass to make the stock.  The carrots, celery, thyme and onions were leftover from the stuffing and gravy.  The only ingredient not leftover is the orzo.  The best thing about this recipe is that it is more of a concept than a recipe in that most items can be substituted for something else you have on hand.  The turkey meat can be chicken, turkey stock can be chicken stock or vegetable stock, and orzo can be any small pasta or rice.  If you have some fresh parsley on hand use it, if you have leeks or shallots use them instead of, or in addition to, the onions and garlic.  The point of this recipe is not to buy ingredients - it is to use what you have in the fridge and pantry. I used the meat from the turkey legs because that is what I had, but a combination of white and dark, or just white, can be used.  The cheese rind is used to add a richness to the broth, if you do not have one it is ok to leave it out.  One thing that you need for this recipe is the lemon.  It is added at the end for a brightness to the soup.  All of the ingredients are savory and the lemon wakes up the soup in a way that does not add lemon flavor.  It is the secret ingredient that takes the soup from good to great.  Do not add it at the beginning, it is added just before you serve.

Ingredients:

1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, small diced

5 small carrots or 2-3 large, cut into 1/4 inch rounds

3 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 TBS kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

2 large garlic cloves, minced

5 fresh thyme sprigs 

2 small or 1 large Bay leaves

1 Parmesan cheese rind

12 cups turkey stock, homemade preferred

3 - 4 cups cooked turkey meat

3/4 lb orzo

1/2 lemon

Here's how:

Heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper.  

Sauté the veggies for five minutes until are soft but not browned.

Add the garlic and saute for one minute.

Add the thyme, bay leaves, cheese rind and stock. 

Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, add the turkey meat and simmer for 12-15 minutes until th veggies are soft enough to eat but not mushy.

Turn off the heat and add the orzo.

Let the soup sit for 10 minutes to allow the orzo to cook in the hot broth.

Remove the thyme stems, bay leaves and cheese rind.  Discard them.

Check the broth to see if it needs more salt and pepper.

Squeeze the lemon juice into the soup, stir it in and serve.