A soup season must: Turkey Neck Soup is a brothy sipper that couldn't be simpler
Chef Shane M. Chartrand's family fave shines at the holidays but also belongs in weeknight recipe rotation
Cold weather calls for bowls upon bowls of soup on the regular. And while the aroma of a pot of perfection simmering away for hours only adds to the joy of soup season as a whole, making a soup from scratch in short time is also delightful! That’s why this recipe from Shane M. Chartrand with Jennifer Cockrall-King’s new cookbook, tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine caught our attention. As Chartrand mentions, this soup is particularly a propos for the holidays and is one of his family’s favourites. But in addition to being a marvellous meal for turkey-centric times, one of the beautiful things about this recipe is its simplicity, making it an ideal weeknight meal anytime the cravings for a comforting, brothy bowl arise.
Turkey Neck Soup
By Shane M. Chartrand
This is a Chartrand family favourite, especially around Christmas, and we like to get into it
with our hands: We chew around the cartilage on the neck, and then we just drink the broth.
No spoons! But obviously eat this however you feel most comfortable.
Ingredients
- 6 turkey necks
- 8 cups Pheasant Broth or good-quality chicken broth
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 large white onion, roughly chopped
- 5 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 green onions, finely sliced at an angle
- ½ cup pea shoots
Preparation
Combine the turkey necks, broth, carrots, onion, and garlic in a pressure cooker. Seal the lid and cook for 25 minutes (follow the manufacturer’s instructions). Release the steam and open the pressure cooker when safe. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, combine the same ingredients in a soup pot and simmer over medium-low heat for about 2 hours, until the meat comes away from the neck and the vegetables are soft.
Season the soup with salt and pepper. Garnish with the sliced green onions and pea shoots. Serve in large soup bowls — with or without a spoon.
Yield: Makes 3 to 6 servings
Excerpted from tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine copyright © Shane M. Chartrand and Jennifer Crockrall-King. Reproduced with permission from House of Anansi Press, Toronto. www.houseofanansi.com