The Soup

After stuffing ourselves at Thanksgiving, many of us want something light and easy to fix with the leftovers. I particularly like turkey soups.

If you have turkey broth left over, use it for the base of the soup. I usually have broth left from simmering the giblets and neck. If you don’t have any left or just don’t have enough, use canned nonfat chicken broth. Or you can remove all the meat from the turkey bones and make a great stock from the carcass. If you let the stock sit overnight in the refrigerator, the congealed fat is easy to remove.

Squash, rutabaga and rapini make a nice combo of vegetables. The rapini or broccoli rabe, also known as “bitter broccoli,” tends to get more bitter the longer it cooks. After five minutes of simmering, it’s on the mild side; cook it longer if you like a stronger flavor.

TURKEY SOUP WITH RAPINI, SQUASH AND RUTABAGA

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup onion

Nonstick olive oil cooking spray

6 cups defatted leftover turkey broth or nonfat chicken broth

2 cups cubed banana squash (about 1/2 pound)

1 rutabaga, peeled and cubed

4 cups chopped rapini (about 1/2 bunch)

1 cup diced white turkey meat

Salt, pepper

Saute garlic and onion in 4-quart saucepan sprayed with cooking spray until tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in turkey broth and bring to boil. Add cubed squash and rutabaga. Bring to simmer and cook until vegetables are fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in rapini and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in turkey and heat until hot through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6 servings. Each serving:

100 calories; 247 mg sodium; 20 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 0.87 gram fiber.

Claire Weisberg cup and saucer from Freehand, Los Angeles.