leek, chard and turkey soup

i had not been out to the garden for about two weeks. rainy weather and other things to do i guess. i was pleasantly surprised when i went out this past monday. the late plantings of lettuce, arugula, tatsoi and cilantro were flourishing in the damp, cool weather. the chard that i planted in the beginning of june was still beautiful with its yellow, orange and red spines. the parsley was abundant.

i had about 3 quarts of turkey stock from cooking down a meaty turkey carcass. my neighbor and friend betsy gave me three huge leeks from here garden...what to make?  how about some turkey, leek, chard soup!

soup is easy to make. no measurements needed. most important is the stock. 'you have to put good in to get it out'. the bones for stock must be meaty. watery, weak stock just does not yield good soup

                                              3 large leeks that have been cleaned and sliced.

                                            a very large bunch of chard that has been chopped.

place the leeks and chard in with the stock pot with the broth and the turkey. i always chop the meat that has been cooked for the broth. it is a great way to find any little bones that you might have missed when the carcass was picked.bring to a simmer and add 3 sliced carrots...always great for color.

after about 20 minutes, bring the soup to a rolling boil and add some noodles or rice and a cup or so of chopped parsley. i added a cup and a half of small egg bows. i let them boil about 5 minutes stirring frequently and then turned off the heat.

the soup was an experiment and it was very tasty. it was interesting to see the colored stems of the chard change the color of the stock to a light yellow.

                                  enjoy!