Turkey and Corn Chowder

It's that time of year again - time to figure out what to do with all that leftover turkey. Every year, I try a new soup. Here's this year's entry. It's adapted from a recipe in Rick Rodger's The Turkey Cookbook. His recipe didn't use any bacon, but as far as I'm concerned, it ain't chowda unless it has bacon.

Turkey and Corn Chowder
(serves 8)



Ingredients:
3 strips Bacon
2 tbl Butter
1 medium Carrot, chopped
1 rib Celery, chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
3-4 cups Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen
1 large Baking Potato, cut into 1 1⁄2" cubes
1⁄2 tsp Dried Marjoram, crushed
1⁄4 tsp Dried Rosemary, crushed
1 tsp Salt
1⁄2 tsp Black Pepper
6 cups Turkey Or Chicken Stock
3 cups Leftover Cooked Turkey, cut in bite-size pieces
1 cup Heavy Cream
4-5 dashes Hot Pepper Sauce
1⁄4 cup Chopped Parsley, for garnish

Heat a soup pot over medium until hot. Add bacon and cook until done but not too crispy. Remove from pot and set aside. Add butter to pot. Then add carrot, celery, onion, 1⁄2 of the corn, and potato. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until onion is softened.

Add marjoram, rosemary, salt, pepper, and stock. Increase heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce to low to maintain a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes until vegetables are very soft. While soup is cooking, dice bacon and set aside.


Using a slotted spoon, remove 1⁄2 the vegetables to a blender. Add about 1 cup of broth. Puree until smooth. Add back to soup along with turkey, bacon, and the rest of the corn. Cook over medium heat to reheat turkey and corn. Reduce heat to low. Add cream and hot sauce. Check seasonings. Depending on the stock, you may need to add more salt.

Add parsley and serve.

Note: if you happen to have leftover roasted potatoes from Thanksgiving, those work just fine. That's what I used. Soup is a great repository for all sorts of leftovers.

Link to PDF of Turkey and Corn Chowder recipe