Smoked Turkey French Onion Soup

I don’t know about you, but I am somewhat happy that Thanksgiving is done with. Not that I did not mind a couple of days off of work, but I think my wife and I both said that we were kind of tired of eating. I think you can only have so many leftovers and then get tired of them, but as much as I like to come up with some leftover recipes, I decided that I would come up with a new recipe of sorts; the smoked turkey French onion soup. I normally make French onion soup around Christmas time, but whoa was I ever glad I made a batch of soup this past week. Not only was it light, but did it ever hit the spot.

If you do not have smoked turkey, no worries, Leftover turkey breast will suffice but the light smokiness give it a really great flavor.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 8 cups of beef stock
• 1/2 cup of dry Vermouth
• 1 cup smoked turkey breast, cut into cubes
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2  tbsp fresh thyme
• French baguette, cut into rounds
• 2 cups of Alpine style cheese, finely grated

Start by heating a medium sized pot on medium heat. Add in the oil, butter, and toss in the onions and garlic. After the onions begin to sweat out, add in the salt, and sugar. Continue cooking until the onions caramelize. This can take up to 30 minutes, so keep an eye on them, not letting them burn, and adjust your heat to medium low. Take in the smell. Gosh I love that smell.

After the onions caramelize, add in the turkey, thyme, vermouth, and cook for a few minutes before adding in your beef stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and cook for about 25 minutes.

Before you are ready to serve, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take a couple of rounds of your baguette, and generously top with the grated Alpine cheese. Place into the preheated oven, cooking for about 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted. You can probably placed under your broiler as well. Your call.

When you are ready to serve, ladle the soup into a soup bowl and place the bread on top.

Dig in. Dunk that bread into the soup, spoon that deliciousness into your mouth and repeat. My wife,daughter and I fell in love with this soup, and it was one that had you going back for more. My wife and I both lifted our bowls at the end to finish every last drop of that awesome broth, and that is rare. Yep, this is a good one. Hope you enjoy!