The Day After the Feast Before Turkey Soup

I had always been a great follower of Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey of The New York Times, and learned to cook by following their recipes. They printed this recipe in 1987, from which I learned to make a rich, delicious stock and heartwarming soup. I have continued this tradition for 21 years now, and am posting this recipe here so that I am assured of never losing it! Over the years, though, I have made some personalization to it. For instance, my habit has been, after dinner, to remove all meat from the turkey frame. I then immediately put the entire turkey frame in a huge stockpot with enough water to cover, and add the rest of the stock ingredients. Instead of cooking it for 1 hour, though, I usually let it simmer for anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. Before I go to bed for the evening, I strain the soup, let it cool, and refrigerate for use the next day. That Thanksgiving Friday, I skim the fat off the chilled stock, and then prepare the soup as directed. Again, I must reiterate, it is delicious!

• Ready In: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 lbs  cooked  turkey bones (from which most of the meat has been removed)
•  leftover  turkey skin
• 16  cups water
• 1⁄2 cup  leftover  gravy (or more)
• 1  bay leaf
• 6  sprigs fresh thyme or 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 2  cups  coarsely chopped celery tops
• 1  cup  coarsely chopped scraped carrot
• 1  cup  coarsely chopped peeled onion
• 1  cup  coarsely chopped leek (green part)
• 6  parsley sprigs
•  salt
•  fresh ground pepper
• 2  cups carrots, scraped and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2  cups celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 1⁄2 cups  finely chopped leeks (white part)
• 1⁄2 cup  finely chopped peeled onion
• 2  cups  fresh ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2  cups zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  finely mincded garlic
• 1⁄2 cup orzo pasta
• 1  cup corn kernel (fresh or frozen)
• 1  cup  cooked turkey, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (white or dark meat)
• 1⁄4 cup  finely chopped parsley
• 1⁄2 cup  freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. To make the stock, put the bones in a kettle and add any leftover turkey skin.
2. Add the water, giblet gravy, bay leaf, thyme, celery tops, coarsley chopped carrots, coarsely chopped onion, green part of leeks, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and let simmer for one hour. As the broth cooks, skim off and discard any scum, foam and fat that rises to the surface.
3. Strain the broth into a clean kettle, discarding the solids, and skim off all fat from the top. Bring to the boil and add the diced carrots, diced celery, white part of leeks, finely chopped onion, tomatoes, zucchini and garlic. Let simmer about 10 minutes, then add the orzo. Continue cooking five minutes and add the corn kernels and cubed turkey meat Continue cooking 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Serve with the grated Parmesan cheese on the side.