Turkey Soup With Lime and Chile

5.0(914)

After the overindulgence that comes with Thanksgiving, you might want to try something a little lighter and brighter with your leftover meat. This is a version of sopa de lima, the restorative and delicious Mexican soup popular in the Yucatán. It is usually made with chicken and a local lime, but turkey and supermarket lime are a magical, timely substitute.

by David Tanis

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MexicanDinner, Appetizer

Servings

(4–6)

Total time

Calories / serving

823 kcal

Ingredients (20)

serves

2 tablespoons vegetable oilvegetable-oil
1 cup diced oniononion
1 cup diced celerycelery
1 cup diced carrotcarrot
1/2 teaspoon cumin seedcumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander seedcoriander
1/2 teaspoon black peppercornspeppercorn
6 garlic cloves, roughly choppedgarlic
1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches longcinnamon
Cayennecayenne
2 teaspoons salt, or to tastesalt
8 cups unsalted turkey or chicken broth
Vegetable oil for frying (about 1 cup)
4 corn tortillas, at least a day old, cut in 1/2-inch stripscorn-tortillas
4 to 6 cups cooked turkey meat, shreddedturkey-meat
1 or 2 firm-ripe avocadosavocado
6 scallions, choppedscallion
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems, roughly choppedcilantro
Lime wedgeslime

Instructions (5 steps)

01Heat vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and let soften, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
02Toast the cumin, coriander and peppercorns in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute, then grind in a spice mill or mortar. Add the ground spices to the pot, along with the garlic, cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne and salt.
03Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a brisk simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then taste for salt and adjust. Keep hot, covered, over very low heat.
04Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and looks wavy, add the tortilla strips and fry until barely colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt. (The oil may be strained and saved for future frying.)
05In a medium saucepan, heat the shredded turkey meat with a little of the hot soup. Divide the meat among 4 to 6 soup bowls and add a few slices of avocado to each. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each bowl, then garnish with tortilla strips, scallions, jalapeño slices, chopped cilantro and a generous squeeze of lime juice.

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Rich recipe — supports nutrition-aware planning.