Jazz up your Thanksgiving leftovers with this soup using leftover turkey, homemade stock, fresh ginger, wild rice, and basil. So good you’ll want to set aside turkey to make it.
You know you are a food blogger when: you are cooking leftover Thanksgiving recipes before Thanksgiving even occurs because you cooked your Thanksgiving turkey 2 weeks ago. Ah yes the constant dilemma of living up to a month ahead of the holidays. I sometimes feel like the retail stores, pushing Christmas before we’ve even started putting together Thanksgiving plans. But when it comes to recipes, what good is the recipe for the turkey made on Thanksgiving Day posted the day after Thanksgiving? Are your really going to remember to dig out that recipe next year? So the recipes for turkey and all the other usual suspects seen on Thanksgiving tables are posted a at least a week in advance providing time for you fine readers to prepare your own Thanksgiving meal, whether you are hosting or just bringing a side dish or dessert.
Of course one of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers! And my favorite thing to do with leftovers year-round is to repurpose them into an entirely new meal. Last year I threw together a quick single serving turkey noodle soup using leftover veggies, turkey, and even gravy watered down and used as the broth. This year I waved my jazz hands around a bit and made a gingered turkey soup with wild rice, homemade stock, and basil sprinkled on top right before serving (adapted from a recipe I recently saved on Girl Carnivore). The ginger was such a fantastic addition to the flavors of this soup and quickly became my new favorite Thanksgiving leftovers recipe.
How do you like to use your Thanksgiving leftovers?
One year ago: Egg in a Hole Waffles
Three years ago: Apple Cider Pancakes
GINGERED TURKEY & RICE SOUP WITH BASIL
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 tsp sesame oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced (or 1/2 tsp dried ground)
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup white wine, or Japanese cooking wine
2-1/2 cups homemade turkey stock (or low-sodium chicken stock/broth)
2-1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
3/4 cup uncooked rice blend (or brown rice)
3/4 lb. cooked turkey, chopped or shredded (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup snipped fresh basil
Directions:
- In a large pot over medium-high heat add sesame oil and onion. Cook for 5 minutes until tender.
- Add the red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger and cook 30 seconds longer.
- Stir in the wine and soy sauce and deglaze the pan then stir in the stock, water, vinegar, and honey.
- Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir in the rice, cover, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add the turkey and heat until warm, about 5 minutes. Divide soup into bowls and top with the fresh snipped basil.
Source: Adapted from Girl Carnivore.
