Description
A hearty and comforting turkey soup loaded with rich flavors, fresh vegetables, and perfectly fluffy sweet potato dumplings, making it a perfect dish for any season.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the turkey soup:
-
- 2 pounds turkey breast tenderloins
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 celery hearts, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 6–8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Jamaican allspice
- 8 cups (2 quarts) turkey or chicken stock/broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
For the sweet potato dumplings:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup whole buttermilk
- 1/4 cup mashed sweet potato or sweet potato puree
Instructions
- Prepare the turkey: Place the turkey tenderloins into a large bowl or vessel and season them generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside for about 25-30 minutes to reach room temperature.
- Sear the turkey: In a large dutch oven or stock pot, warm up the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Once sizzling, add the seasoned turkey tenderloins. Brown the tenderloins for about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden. Remove the turkey and set aside.
- Sauté the vegetables: Add the chopped celery, carrots, and onion to the pot. Stir while scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pot, and sauté until soft and tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add herbs and seasoning: Place the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, oregano, paprika, and allspice into the pot. Stir to combine and let the spices warm up and lightly toast for about 1 minute.
- Add stock and turkey: Return the turkey tenderloins to the pot. Add the stock, ensuring the turkey is submerged. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover with a lid, and simmer for 45-50 minutes.
- Shred the turkey: Remove the turkey from the pot and shred it into pieces using two forks. Return the shredded turkey to the pot and stir to combine. Leave the pot uncovered while preparing the dumplings.
- Prepare the dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. Add melted butter, buttermilk, and mashed sweet potato, stirring with a spatula until the dough is just combined. Let the mixture sit for 1-2 minutes to activate the baking powder.
- Add the peas and dumplings: Stir in the frozen peas. Using a spoon or scoop, drop 2-3 tablespoons of dumpling dough onto the soup, covering the surface. Spoon some broth over the tops of the dumplings.
- Simmer and serve: Cover the pot and simmer the soup for 10-15 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and fluffy. Remove the pot from heat, serve the soup into bowls, and remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- Ensure your turkey tenderloins are at room temperature before searing for best results.
- Do not overwork the dumpling dough to keep it fluffy and light.
- Feel free to adjust the seasoning to suit your taste preferences.
- For a richer flavor, you can use homemade turkey or chicken stock.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 480mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 21g
- Cholesterol: 60mg
