Since 1926, the Agricultural Review has been a free newspaper published by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For many years, The Tar Heel Kitchen was a featured column written by the department’s marketing home economist. These recipes tended to be seasonal with just a handful of ingredients. We thought these recipes needed to be shared in a new format. The Tar Heel Kitchen post will unearth a few of these timeless recipes each month. This week we are revisiting the Dec. 15, 1980 issue and a recipe for Cream of Turkey Soup.
Thanksgiving is one week away, which for many of us it means a home-cooked meal with lots of turkey. With more than 50,000 farms in North Carolina, there’s a good chance that many of the foods you eat at Thanksgiving were grown, raised, caught or made right here in North Carolina. And, that’s something to be thankful for!
North Carolina ranks second nationally in total turkey production, so it’s a very good chance that the turkey on your table was from North Carolina, too. More than 5,700 farm families in North Carolina produce poultry or eggs.
Also, according to the N.C. Poultry Federation, Americans consume poultry in amazing quantities. We eat 90 pounds of chicken, 17 pounds of turkey and more than 240 eggs per person per year.
After the meal is over, here is a recipe for a delicious way to use leftover turkey. It is originally from the Southern Living cookbook “Cooking Across the South.” “This cookbook is a valuable addition to the N.C. Department of Agriculture test kitchen library,” said York Kiker, former NCDA&CS home economist. “Often it is difficult to find directions for preparing foods which feature our native foods.”
Cream of Turkey Soup
- 1/2 cup onion
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups turkey or chicken broth
- 1 cup thin egg noodles
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
- 1 1/2 cups cream-style corn
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
- 2 cups cooked cubed turkey
Saute onion in butter until tender. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Add broth, noodles, celery and seasoning, mixing well. Simmer 20 minutes, or until noodles and celery are tender. Add remaining ingredients; heat and serve. Do not boil.