Three Sisters Soup

by Elena Terry

Fall 2022 Issue

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Serves: 6

Elena loves using a grocery-store staple—smoked turkey legs—to make a quick broth for the base of her three sisters soup. Be careful when adding additional salt as the smoked turkey flavor will add a lot of salt to the final dish. If using fresh corn on the cob, feel free to add the cobs to the turkey stock to build a more complex flavor.

Ingredients

1 smoked turkey leg

4 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 celery stick, sliced

1 acorn squash, peeled and cubed

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 cup fresh (or frozen) sweet corn or canned hominy

1 15-ounce can white navy beans, rinsed

2 sage leaves, finely chopped

Directions

In a roaster oven or large pot, place the turkey leg in enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook until the meat starts pulling away from the bone, about 1-2 hours. Remove the turkey leg from the broth and place it in a pan to cool. Strain the broth and set aside.

Heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the leek, garlic, carrots, celery, winter squash and corn (or hominy) and sauté for 5 minutes, until just beginning to brown. Deglaze the pan with turkey stock, and bring everything to a boil. Once the soup reaches a boil, turn down to simmer. Cook until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Add the rinsed beans.

Pull the turkey off the bone and add it to the soup along with the sage. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

How was it?