Christmas Turkey, Sweet Potato & Cranberry Soup

christmas soup‘Tis the season for comfort food and cranberries. Yes, cranberries deserve their own special mention. You know how I feel about cranberries.

I wish I could claim I was clever enough to invent this soup on my own, but I was inspired by a similar soup made by a local restaurant. A few weeks ago I tried their soup on a whim, grabbing a to-go container to take home with me. When I opened the container later to make some lunch, I was instantly floored by how much the soup smelled exactly like Christmas dinner. I almost had to open my oven to make sure there wasn’t a turkey roasting in there that I didn’t know about!

Unfortunately, the smell was my favorite part of the soup. My objections to the taste were minor, except for one fatal flaw – it was loaded with cilantro. I am one of those people who can’t stand cilantro because all I taste is soap. So I decided to remake the soup on my own at home.

This Christmas Turkey, Sweet Potato & Cranberries is perfect for using up those Christmas leftovers. Don’t have any leftovers? Cook up a little turkey breast and use that to make the soup, or even substitute some chicken. The sweet potatoes make it filling while the cranberries add a pleasant sweet surprise. It will make your kitchen smell fantastic and evoke warm, comfy holiday memories. Comfort food at it’s best!

Christmas Turkey, Sweet Potato & Cranberry Soup

Serves 3-4

You’re probably going to want to add a good bit of salt to balance the sweetness from the dried cranberries (most of which have added sugar). I didn’t want to specify an amount, however, because it will vary depending on your cranberries and whether or not you add gravy. Just add a little, taste, and repeat until it tastes good!

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 large celery ribs, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning (thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary)
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
  • 4 to 5 cups turkey broth or stock
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 pound cooked turkey (more or less)
  • 1-2 tablespoons leftover turkey gravy (optional, but highly recommended)
    salt, to taste

Directions

You can either use the best soup maker for this or you can go traditional, in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, saute onion and celery in butter or olive oil until onions are translucent and celery has softened. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes and stir in spices. Add turkey broth or stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook 10 minutes. Add dried cranberries and continue to simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 more minutes. (If a fork easily slides through the potatoes, they’re done.) Add cooked turkey. Stir in gravy, if using, and season to taste.

This entry was posted in Recipes.

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