I've roasted a few turkeys in my day, and I always save the carcass for soup. I change the recipe everytime I make it or at least, I did. I stumbled upon a chicken zoopa recipe several years ago that sparked my culinary creativity. The final product is a favorite of both my husband's and mine. I hope you enjoy it too! It's sure to warm you from the inside out. 

Ingredients
Turkey Broth:
1 turkey carcass
1 onion, cut in 1/8s
variety of herbs and spices (rosemary sprigs are a favorite)

Soup:
2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tsp minced garlic (@ 2 cloves)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 - 3 cups chopped celery
1 - 2 cups julienned carrots
2 leeks, minced (white & part of the green)
4 cups turkey broth
1/4 soy sauce (or to taste)
1 - 2 Tablespoon sesame oil
8 ounces spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup barley (or pasta of choice)
Turkey meat from carcass
Salt & Pepper to taste

1) Prepare your broth by placing the carcass in a dutch oven. Place the onion and seasonings around carcass. Cover carcass with water. Simmer for several hours, until carcass falls apart when attempted to be lifted out of water. Strain the broth and debone. Set aside the chunks of meat.

2) Heat oil in a large pot. Add all of the vegetables, except the spinach, and saute until onion is translucent. 

3) Add stock, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer. If using barley, rinse, and add now. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

4) Add spinach to soup. It will quickly shrink. If using pasta, add pasta now. Add turkey. Salt & pepper generously to taste. Your soup is ready as soon as the noodles are al dente and the turkey is heated through.

Sit at the table with a good book spread open before you. Hover over the warmth of the steamy soup and enjoy your story!

 CHEATER'S VERSION
Cook a couple of chicken breasts and cube or shred in place of the turkey. Use store-bought broth in place of the homemade turkey broth. It won't have quite the flavor, but it will still be tasty.

​½ cup unsweetened applesauce
8 pitted Deglet Noor dates
1 very ripe banana
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup gluten-free flour (I used gluten-free oat flour)
½ cup almond meal
½ cup cacao powder (you can use cocoa powder, but you won’t get as rich a chocolate flavor)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup Lily’s dairy, sugar, nut free chocolate chips (allergen alert: they contain soy)
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish.
 
In a food processor, combine applesauce, dates, banana, honey, and vanilla. Process until as smooth as possible (there will still be small bits of dates). In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the Lily’s chocolate chips.
 
Pour wet ingredients into dry and combine just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and fold into batter.
 
Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes (top should appear slightly dry; edges should just be beginning to pull away from sides of pan).
 
Cool before cutting.
 
Enjoy!

​(recipe adapted from the Clean Start cookbook by Terry Walters)