It appears as if anyone who has a kid in school or daycare, or who is a teacher, or who works or lives with any one of the aforementioned, is sick right now. I blame small children, who can generally be counted on to a) be full of snot, b) not self-regulate enough to wash their hands; and c) want to touch you all the time, rendering them adorable, yet lethal, biological hazards. Germ factories, the lot of them!
If you’ve got a cold, I have the soup for you. I will warn you that it is not a “ready in half an hour” soup, and is probably best made on a lazy Sunday afternoon, perhaps by the person in your family who is not sick. But it’s hearty, comforting, chock full of cabbage (which is good for you), and serves as a complete, one-pot meal.
This soup was inspired by a soupe aux choux I had in a restaurant in Paris which specialized in Auvergne regional cuisine (also the home of aligot — amazingly cheesy mashed potatoes that they will mix and serve tableside. The cheese makes the potatoes take on a pullable, stretchy quality that has to be seen, and tasted, to be believed). The soup was simple and rustic, the broth flavoured with a salted, cured pork belly, which was ladled over a whole wedge of cabbage left intact, that had been cooked long enough in the broth that you could slice it with your spoon. The soup bowl itself had a piece of blue cheese at the bottom, which made for a surprising, creamy bite combined with the cabbage. It was one of the best soups I’ve ever had at a restaurant.
This recipe is where multiple attempts on my part to re-create this soup landed — and, big surprise, it’s a bit of a departure from where it started out. This recipe uses smoked turkey legs or thighs, which impart the same rich smoky flavour as pork belly or ham, with less of the fat, and skips out on the “whole wedge” concept just for ease of putting this together for more than one person. I threw in some barley to give it a bit more body. Finally, I opted out of the blue cheese and added some cider vinegar for a bit of acidity. The net effect, however, is the same: a comforting, hearty soup that will help ward off the worst of colds. Make a big batch and freeze it — you will thank yourself later.
You can usually find smoked turkey legs in the section of your grocer where the bacon is. The leg usually has a little less meat than the thigh, so choose according to whether you want a meatier soup. Be sure to use a fairly wide pot if you can so that the whole turkey leg or thigh is covered in the stock and water.
Smoked Turkey, Cabbage and Barley Soup
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 smoked turkey leg or thighs
4 cups chicken stock
4-6 cups water
½ a head of green Savoy cabbage, chopped (about 6 cups)
½ cup pearl barley
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
cider vinegar
1. In a large, wide Dutch oven or pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté gently, until the vegetables begin to sweat (about 6 minutes).
2. Add turkey, stock, water, cabbage, and barley. Add enough water to make sure the turkey is covered — don’t worry, the soup will still be flavourful. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until barley is tender and the broth takes on the flavour of the turkey (about 45 minutes to an hour).
3. Remove turkey leg to a cutting board, and remove meat from bones, cutting into chunks. Return meat to soup.
4. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste (smoked turkey is quite salty so you probably won’t need to add much salt, if any). Serve with crusty baguette and pass with cider vinegar (usually 1 tsp per bowl, according to taste).
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork.