It’s chilly outside and a bowl of rich, warm Minnesota style soup along with flavorful sides will certainly warm you up. The soup can be made with any type of milk, including non-dairy. I love using Minnesota grown wild rice, it is so flavorful and has a wonderful texture. Make sure to thoroughly cook it following package directions.  

I don’t have anything growing in the garden right now, but I do have delicious turkey stock and cut up turkey meat, both light and dark, frozen from the holidays. I dried a lot of parsley prior to frost, so that can be added to the soup too. I have fresh sweet potatoes from the garden stored and I’ll roast those to serve along side this soup. A cold turkey croissant sandwich with fresh greens is one of my favorites. 

A very special treat for this meal, is my daughter’s home-made goat milk cheese. It has a sharp pungent flavor and is delicious atop a nutty cracker with a dollop of cranberry sauce. 

Ingredients

½ cup butter cubed

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 medium onion, sweet white, chopped

½ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups turkey broth (or chicken)

2 cups wild rice, cooked

2 cups cubed cooked turkey

2 cups half-and-half cream

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1.2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Process

1. In a Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion; cook and stir until tender.

2. Stir in flour until blended; cook until bubbly. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Roasting Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup honey

2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon

Salt

Process

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the potatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender.

3. Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil.

Photo Credits: www.flickr.com (1), Joy Johnson (2)