Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup

Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup

Shown served with Parmesan Herb Crackers. Find that recipe by clicking here. Some light and flaky Buttermilk biscuits would be great to serve with this soup too.

Today marks a milestone for Rock Recipes blog. Today we went over the 200 mark for posts since last September when the blog started. I'm surprising even myself at this point. For someone who never actually wrote down any of the recipes that I have used for years, having completed over 200 recipes at this point is an accomplishment to say the least.

Thanks so much to all the regular readers of the blog who keep returning. We have regular readers, many of whom are transplanted Newfoundlanders, all over the world. I have heard from many of them in places I would never expect to find people interested in recipe ideas from the cold North Atlantic. We have had readers from 96 different countries visit the site. I'd like to encourage as many readers as possible to leave a comment on our guestbook and tell us from where you are reading the blog.

Stay tuned, I still have too much time on my hands and I'm not done yet.

Today's recipe is for one of my favorite soups, often made a day or two after a roast turkey dinner. The Parmesan Herb Crackers are a very tasty addition to this meal.

Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Soup
Serves 8

2 lbs cooked cubed turkey
8 slices thick cut smoked bacon
5 cups turkey stock
5 cups tomato juice
3 large carrots sliced
2 large parsnip sliced
4 stalks celery chopped
1 cup chopped fennel bulb
3 cloves minced garlic
1 large red or white onion chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp dried savoury
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp marjoram
Salt and pepper to season
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
½ cup lentils

To make the turkey stock for this soup I use the bones of a cooked 10 lb turkey. Break the carcass apart and cover them with water in a large pot. Boil for about an hour and remove all the bones from the pot. Skim off excess fat from the surface. For this recipe I like to reduce the stock to about 5 cups to concentrate the flavour so return the pot to the stove and continue to boil to reduce the amount of stock if necessary.

Cut the bacon in small pieces and cook slowly to crisp over medium low flame, rendering out as much of the fat as possible. Drain off all the fat and deglaze the pan with a little turkey stock and add to the soup pot.

Sauté all the vegetables and garlic, except the tomatoes, in the olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Deglaze the pan with a little turkey stock and add to the soup pot along with the sautéed vegetables.

Add all other ingredients except the tomatoes and cooked turkey to the soup pot and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Add the turkey and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked.