Extra Meaty Turkey-Cabbage Soup

Did you know Israelis eat more turkey per capita than anywhere else in the world?  Turkey shawarma accounts for much of this, but about half the poultry sold in the grocery store is also turkey.  And yet its practically impossible to procure a whole turkey, like the type us Americans like to feast on every November.  I usually grab a package of chicken when I'm shopping, unless I go to the meat counter and see how much cheaper the turkey is.  It's hard to resist the savings.

This week I bought three big ole turkey legs to make for Shabbat.  Unfortunately, we had a crazy Friday and I didn't get them in on time, so I was stuck on Friday night with three only mostly cooked giant drum sticks.  (Thanks to my good friend Hannah of Cooking Manager, I still had a DELICIOUS challah and potato kugel to make our Shabbat special.  Thank you, Hannah!)

Today I used my pressure cooker to make a delicious, meaty soup from the turkey and some vegetables that had over stayed their welcome in my fridge.  Into the pressure cooker went:


3 turkey legs, partly roasted with tomato paste and garlic on top
6 wimpy carrots, washed, cut in chunks, no need to peel
half a bulb of fennel
1 red onion
3 mushrooms
stem and core of cauliflower
4-6 cups water

I cooked it all under pressure for about 20 minutes.  I strained the soup into a second pot with about half a cabbage, chopped.  I discarded the cooked veggies, then picked the meat off the turkey bones, cut it into large chunks, and added it back into the soup.  I added salt to taste and simmered until the cabbage was a little soft, about the time it took to pick all the turkey meat off the bones.

The dark meat turkey retains a nice meaty taste and texture that you don't get from boiled chicken.  The tomato paste adds to the hearty flavor to the soup.  This soup could be made from raw turkey legs or from leftover cooked meat and bones by adjusting the cooking time accordingly.