Turkey and Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
2 servings
- Turkey meat 300 g
- Water 1.5 l
- White cabbage 300 g
- Carrot 1
- Onion 1
- Garlic 1 clove
- Potatoes 1–2
- Celery root and parsnip 50 g each
- Olive oil 2 tbsp
- Bay leaves 1–2
- Dried herbs a couple of pinches
- Salt, ground black pepper, parsley to taste
Step-by-step recipe
Meat and broth
Prepare the meat: since a single turkey leg can hold up to a kilogram of meat, it’s better to cut the meat into pieces beforehand and use them as needed. One leg is enough to make turkey soup three times! Trim off membranes and skin; you can leave the bone. Cut the meat into portion-sized pieces.
Bring 1.5 liters of water to a boil in a pot, add the turkey meat and make a turkey broth. Simmer the turkey for about half an hour, then let the broth stand for another hour. Or, if you’re short on time, simmer the turkey for an hour and use the broth for the soup right away.
Vegetables
Prepare the vegetables: peel the carrot for the turkey soup and cut it into large pieces. Peel the celery and parsnip roots and cut them into thin strips. Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips lengthwise, along the grain. That way the onion won’t cook down to mush and will stay whole. Peel the garlic and crush it with the flat of a knife.
In a deep skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and let it get quite hot, until it gives off its characteristic smell. Fry the carrot, onion and roots in the oil, stirring constantly. The onion should start to brown and the carrot should soften.
Cooking the soup
While the vegetables fry, add 1–2 bay leaves and the crushed garlic clove to the broth. Season the broth lightly with salt and pepper and add a couple of pinches of dried herbs used in Mediterranean or Provençal cooking.
Stores usually sell decent blends of these herbs with no additives, but you can make your own by mixing a pinch each of basil, marjoram, sage, savory, oregano, mint and thyme, to your taste. This blend is great for soups.
Add the fried vegetables to the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Remove the bay leaves and add the potatoes cut into large cubes. Cook for another 15 minutes.
For the turkey and cabbage soup, shred the white cabbage very thinly. You can do this with a special shredder, which I don’t have, or with a very sharp knife.
Add the shredded cabbage to the turkey soup and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper of the turkey and cabbage soup to taste.
Serving
Ladle the finished turkey soup into bowls and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Calories and macros
450 kcal
Serving ≈ 1170 g
- Protein39 g37% of kcal
- Fat17 g37% of kcal
- Carbs28 g26% of kcal
100 g39 kcalProtein 3.4 gFat 1.5 gCarbs 2.4 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
To Get It Right
Which part of the turkey to use
For a rich broth, a fresh large thigh or wing on the bone works best. With breast fillet the soup is lighter and the broth less full-bodied.
For a richer broth
Make a separate turkey broth from a whole thigh with roughly chopped root vegetables: 3.5–4 l of water and 1.5 hours over low heat with the lid on. That broth is enough for several pots of soup.
Young cabbage
In summer the soup is good with young cabbage: shred it just as thinly. Another one with young cabbage: young cabbage soup.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Questions and answers
How long to boil turkey for soup?
In this recipe the portion-sized pieces are simmered for about half an hour, then the broth stands for another hour. If you’re short on time, simmer the turkey for an hour and use the broth right away.
How long to boil turkey breast for soup?
Portion-sized pieces of boneless breast need about half an hour after the water (750 ml) boils. Broth from breast is lighter than from meat on the bone.
How long to boil a turkey thigh for soup?
I simmer a whole large thigh of about a kilogram for 1.5 hours over low heat. If you cut the thigh into portion-sized pieces, the time in this recipe is enough: half an hour of simmering and an hour of standing.
Do you need to discard the first turkey broth?
No, in this recipe the meat goes straight into boiling water and cooks in the same water. If a little foam appears as it comes to a boil, skim it off with a spoon.
Can you make turkey soup with rice or noodles?
Yes. We often cook turkey broth with vermicelli or broken spaghetti, and for breakfast we make rice soup.