LEFTOVERS!!!!

Can I just say... last weekend was a BLAST! I baked 4 pumpkin pies, 3 lemon meringue pies, 2 apple cheddar pies and then roasted a turkey, made stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. Did my apartment smell good or what!? The thing with thanksgiving though is that the meal is on Sunday... but you still have the Monday off (I am not complaining - I promise!)

That left me with some time on my hands yesterday - and a turkey carcass in the fridge. The only sensible thing to do was to make a stock out of it... and what a stock it was. A great way to use some leftovers (especially veggies that are on their last legs) and make something flavourful and rich.

But you don't just make a stock to freeze... you make it to fill your kitchen with the scents of more cooking. This time I was inspired by the Indo-Brit classic, Mulligatawny Soup. No flavours could be further from a traditional thanksgiving meal than this Indian spiced soup...exactly what I was looking for.

I changed my version up slightly from what you would traditionally expect... I really made use of emptying my pantry/fridge and then went a little wild with the seasoning... but that's what soup is all about. Flavours and a bit of a kick. And this packs a real punch! I hope that this will tempt you to use your leftovers a little differently...

Mulligatawny Soup...Ottawa style
ingredients:
sunflower oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 leeks, rinsed and thinly chopped
leftover turkey pieces, cubed
1 tbsp (heaping) curry powder
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 c. turkey stock
4 c. cold water
1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tart apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1/3 c. brown rice (uncooked)
sea salt and ground pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat (I used about 1 tbsp). Add the onion, garlic and leeks; sauté them for about 4 minutes. You want them to get soft but not brown. Add the turkey, curry powder and ginger, allowing all of that to sauté for another couple of minutes. Stir occasionally, but really, let the flavours start to mingle (remember, soup is like a party in a saucepan...how cheesy was that!)

You'll start to smell the curry and ginger, so add the stock, water, carrots, parsnips, turnip, apples, bay leaves, rice, cumin and garam masala; bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes...believe me, you won't want it to stop simmering...my kitchen smelt like...a curry shop in London ;0)

Remove the bay leaves, season with salt and pepper. You should get about 10 cups of soup of this...a nice big batch of leftovers, that doesn't taste a thing like the original!

Enjoy :0)