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Turkey and Split Pea Soup

Leftovers have gotten a bad rap!

The holiday season is the one time when the stigma is lifted from leftovers.

Leftovers have long been associated with poverty and the lower classes. In Europe, leftovers were thought of as the food the servants ate.

In the age of the monarchies, food left over from banquets was given to the poor. The French monarchy turned this into public entertainment. Passes were distributed to people who wanted to watch the royal family eat. If the onlookers were lucky, they got leftovers.

Leftovers are associated with not wanting to waste anything. In the worst of times, a meal was often just one dish. People started with a large pot of vegetables and added a little something each day.

Leftovers are also associated with convenience. Food prepared one day can be eaten on several different days. Sometimes the food may actually taste better a day or two later. Even so, the stigma still exists. We don't usually serve leftovers to dinner guests.

There's an English nursery rhyme about leftovers: “Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot nine days old.” Pease porridge is now known as split pea soup.

An English lady once told me her mother sometimes made a pot of split peas that lasted for a week. By then, the soup was so thick it could be cut into slices, which were fried in bacon fat.

This soup is one of my favorite uses of leftover turkey. Sometimes I freeze the stock and wait a few weeks after Thanksgiving before I turn it into soup.

God forbid anyone should accuse me of serving leftovers!

Turkey and Split Pea Soup

10 servings

• 1 leftover roasted turkey carcass
• 2 cups yellow or green split peas
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 leeks, trimmed and diced
• 1 tablespoon crumbled dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 3 parsnips, diced
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• Salt, optional
• 1 cup diced, cooked turkey
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley

Place turkey carcass in a pot and cover with water. Simmer 2 hours. Add water as needed. Strain broth, discarding solids. Skim away any fat. Measure liquid. If necessary, add enough water to yield 10 cups.

Combine peas, potato, garlic, leeks, sage, thyme, pepper and broth in a pot. Simmer on low heat for 11/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add carrots, parsnips and soy sauce. Stirring regularly, simmer for 1 hour, or until vegetables are tender.

Transfer 3 cups of soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to soup pot. Add turkey and sherry and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot with parsley sprinkled over each bowl.

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