It's Friday So It Must Be Soup! Turkey Quinoa

So, it's Friday and I still haven't made any soup this week so the heat was on to come up with something cobbled together from what I had on hand already. I actually like the challenge and often come up with some of my favourite things that way - well,  if you can overlook the odd black bean peach chowder or
an anchovy corn creme brûlée.



Quinoa kept popping into my head as I put together gift boxes full of cookies and chocolatey treats for teachers - it was almost like my brain just kept going to whatever food was the antithesis of the food I was boxing up. I looked in the fridge and I had some kale, some fennel, turkey meat in the freezer and a bag of turkey stock but I have used fennel a few times this week. I was in the mood for something more along the lines of a soap de lima, all full of lime and cilantro but with the addition of kale and quinoa making it a super food soup. The flavour of the kale is so strong that it made it a really different soup and between that and the addition of the quinoa, it was hearty enough to be a meal in itself. I really like that it's enough like sopa de lima to satisfy that craving but different enough to feel like a new soup.

I am leaving for Mexico tomorrow and plan to eat my weight in sopa de lima for the next week so although I will not have a new soup to post next Friday because I won't be home, I will make sure to post updates from my trip and I will share some of the delicious soups that I plan to indulge in.

Turkey Quinoa Soup

1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small celery, finely chopped
1 tbls olive oil
6 cups turkey stock (or chicken stock if you don't have turkey)
2 cups of washed and chopped kale
1/3 cup, rinsed and drained quinoa
1 plum tomato, diced
2 cups cooked, shredded turkey (or chicken)
3 corn tortilla, cut into strips and deep fried
juice from a lime or two to taste
fresh cilantro to taste
salt and pepper


Heat the olive oil in a 3 qt pot and sauté the shallot, garlic and celery until softened and just starting to get a bit of colour. Add the stock and bring to a light boil. At that point throw in the quinoa and the kale and bring back to a light simmer and let it cook for another ten minutes or so before you add the chopped tomato and the shredded meat. Cook for another 15 or 20 minutes until the kale and the quinoa are tender. Taste and adjust salt and pepper and squeeze in some lime juice. Keep tasting and add the lime juice a bit at a time until you are happy. Chop up a handful of fresh cilantro and add that to the pot.
Serve with the deep fried tortilla strips, a wedge of lime and bit more fresh cilantro.

*to deep fry the tortilla strips, just cut a few corn tortillas into strips. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in small pan (i use a tiny little pot) and when the oil is hot enough (to test for deep frying I use a trick that an old boyfriend's chinese grandmother showed me - I put a wooden chopstick down into the pot with the bottom touching the bottom of the pot and when it bubbles up all around the chopstick, the oil is ready. It's not very scientific but it seems to work for me)
Throw in a small handful of tortillas strips at a time and deep fry til golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, put onto a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with kosher salt right away. Set aside until you need them.